The Hangover
by ElaineAlaine
Summary: Michiru and Haruka are finally getting married- in New Orleans! The rest of the senshi fly to America to attend the wedding, but the bachelorette party quickly spirals out of control. Where did Minako's hair go? Why is there an alligator in the bathtub? And why hasn't Makoto confessed her feelings to Ami yet!
1. Chapter 1

"Ami, Ami, wake up! Oh, god, wake up!"

In the haze of her hang-over, Ami vaguely recognized Minako's voice. She groggily opened her eyes to see Minako looking down at her. Something was… different. It must be her hair... It was… gone.

"Minako… What happened to your hair?" She murmured, still half asleep. Her eyes shot open and she sat up. "Oh my—Minako, what happened to your hair?"

"I don't know!" Minako wailed. She covered her head and sobbed. "I LOOK TERRIBLE!"

"No—it looks, well…" Ami didn't really know how to continue. "There's really no cause for alarm. Haruka has short hair too, and she looks fantastic."

"I LOOK LIKE A LESBIAN?!" She howled and collapsed on the floor next to the bed.

"Minako, have you forgotten that you are a lesbian?" She said impatiently, holding her own aching head in her hands for a moment and then slowly lifted her head to look around. They were in what looked like a hotel suite. The place was incredibly messy, with sheets and food all over the place. At the other end of the room was a small kitchen and a half opened door leading to another room. Ami had never seen this place before in her life; she must've been extremely drunk when they came here.

"But not that kind…" The senshi of love whimpered.

"It'll be okay. It will grow." Ami said in an attempt to sooth the hysterical senshi. Even in the middle of a blazing hangover, she had to be the level headed one. "Minako, where are we? How much did I drink last night?" She stood up and stretched, noticing for the first time she wasn't wearing her own clothes. Instead of the dress she had worn yesterday, she was wearing a very rumpled white button up shirt. She pulled back the covers on the bed and found some black slacks, a tie, and what looked like some sort of harness. "And where are my clothes?!"

"I have no idea." Minako frowned. "I don't remember anything from last night after we had those drinks at the party. And then I woke up right here. " She patted the floor where she was laying and stood up. "I saw my hair in the mirror over the bed and freaked out and woke you up."

"Goodness…" Ami poked the harness on the bed, not quite sure what to think about it. "That's the last thing I remember too. Where's everyone else?"  
Minako shrugged and pointed over at the other room. "That's my only guess."

"Quick, let's do a headcount, now." Ami said and rushed over to the other room and pushed the door open. She was left speechless at the state of the room. It looked like every pillow and comforter had been torn open, leaving stuffing, cotton and feathers everywhere. The whirling fan above the bed kept it moving, giving the appearance of snow falling. In the big bed in the room lay only Usagi, completely naked.

"I… I don't even want to know. Minako, you wake her up while I go use the bathroom and then find my cell phone and find the others." The other senshi nodded and Ami made her way over to the door on the other end of the room, stepping over piles of plush and noticing the other broken furniture. When she swung the door open, she couldn't stop her scream. She had found the bathroom.

As well as the frozen alligator in the bathtub.


	2. Chapter 2

_Many months earlier_

"Where's New Orleans?" Makoto asked as she looked over the menu, quickly finding ways to improve what she saw- for starters, the wine recommendations were all wrong for the dishes."I mean, America's a big place."

"It's down south." Michiru replied. "In a place called 'Louisiana'. It's a very interesting, to say the least."

Michiru and Haruka's engagement had been announced, and no one had been surprised at the news. It was always taken for granted that they would get married someday; the only question was when and where. When they all had been called to dinner at the newest restaurant in town, it was quickly assumed the topic would be the wedding.

"Louisiana is a very conservative place, culturally. Gay marriage isn't even legal. But New Orleans is very different and is famous for its Mardi Gras celebrations and tasty seafood." Ami piped in. Makoto thought it was so adorable how Ami knew little facts like that. She was like a public service announcement, complete with a cute ass.

"Right as always, Ami. For legal purposes, we'll be making a stop in Canada to sign papers, but then the ceremony will be in New Orleans." Haruka explained. "We had a concert there a few years ago and fell in love with it."

"I'm so happy for you guys!" Usagi exclaimed, nearly knocking her drink over in excitement. "But…" Makoto could see the gears in her head slowly turning, as she realized what the rest of them had. "Now we can't come to your wedding…" She slumped down in her chair, going from ecstatic to depressed in ten seconds. "Take pictures, okay?"

Michiru laughed. "You won't need any pictures! We're going to fly everyone over so you can be with us! You guys are the entire guest list and the wedding party!"

Cheers, high fives, and fist pumps ensued, and a fight promptly broke out between Usagi and Rei for the position of Maid of Honor. After a game of rock, paper scissors, Rei was dubbed the Best Woman, Usagi the Maid of Honor, and then Makoto was paired with Ami and Setsuna with Minako for the trek down the aisle.

"Makoto, you gonna be walking down the aisle with Ami, huh?" Minako said to Makoto with a wink and Makoto hoped that she would get nailed in the head with the bouquet when the wedding day finally arrived. Minako, who claimed it was because of her powers as the senshi of love, had figured out that Makoto was heads over heels in love with Ami. If Ami had heard the remark, she didn't show it, as she discussed travel logistics with Michiru and Haruka. While looked forward to seeing two of her best friends tie the knot, she couldn't ignore the potential this trip had in store for her and Ami.

She'd make it a trip they'd never forget.


	3. Chapter 3

_Three days before the wedding_

"Ugh, I am not looking forward to this flight." Rei groaned as she shoved her carry-on luggage into the overhead compartment. "I hate flying. Hate, hate, _hate_."

"No worries, Rei." Setsuna said calmly, already seated and buckled in. "If the plane explodes, it won't hurt. It'll just…" Trailing off, she began trying to catch something in the air unseen by the others. "Oohhh, so pretty…"

"Uhh… What just happened?" Makoto had witnessed Setsuna's bizarre bout of insanity from across the aisle, where she was sitting next to Ami.

"I… really have no idea." Rei replied as she slammed the compartment door down which caused Setsuna to begin giggling and talking to someone outside the window. "Did someone drug her or something?" She plopped into the seat behind Minako and next to Usagi, who had earphones in and was somehow already fast asleep.

"I did." Ami answered, not looking up from her book. Makoto and the others stared at her as if they just discovered their Dr. Mizuno was actually Dr. Kevorkian, while Usagi let out a snore and Setsuna played thumb war with herself.

"Umm…" Makoto pretended to clear her throat. "Please explain."

Ami sighed and closed her book—the two heroines had just fallen in love and it was just getting good—and grabbed her bag from under her seat. She rummaged around until she pulled out a plain white packet. She motioned for everyone to lean in; Ami didn't want other passengers or the flight attendants to hear.

"This is a new drug called Lesbiflex and it's for anxiety. It's in a powder form so it works quickly and can be added to food and drink. It's actually quite powerful. Setsuna—" she pointed over to the guardian of space and time, who was looking more than a little spacey, "—is rendered absolutely catatonic by the idea of flying. I offered to give her something before the flight that would calm her down." She put the packet back in her bag and opened her book again. "To avoid scrutiny from security, I put it in this packet to disguise it as water flavoring. Don't worry, I had her consent."

"That's what she's gonna say when you wake up after she puts that in your drink." Minako leaned over and whispered to Makoto, wiggling her eyebrows. Makoto swatted at Minako just as the stewardess walked by to inspect their seatbelts.

"We are about to begin preparations for take-off. Please remain fastened—"

"PLUTO PLANET-"

For a moment, there was mass panic, but once it was discovered that she was using a rolled up magazine as her henshin wand, the rest of the senshi tried to settle in their chairs. It was going to be a long flight.


	4. Chapter 4

_Ten agonizing stifling hours later_

"You're here! Welcome to America!"

Michiru and Haruka were there to meet them at baggage collection. They muttered their greetings, still clutching onto pillows and carry-on bags. Setsuna was the groggiest of them all but was finally coherent.

"It's so… sticky." Rei gasped as she lugged her big suitcase off the conveyer. "What's with the air here?"

"Yeah, today's a bit hot." Michiru agreed. "The humidity is pretty high here, but today is a tad worse than normal."

"It's only hot because you're here. We might need to go back to the hotel room and take some of those clothes off, my bride." Haruka purred into Michiru's ear.

"Oh, I forgot you two got married on the way here!" Rei squealed. "How does it feel?"

"Oh, the same as it did before… Smooth, sometimes a bit rough, but I like it that way…" Michiru absentmindedly replied as she nuzzled to Haruka. The group let out a collective groan. Marriage hadn't changed those two at all.

"When are we going to the hotel?" Ami chimed in as she corrected her watch. "Will we have time to shower?" She secretly wanted a moment or two more to read, since she had only one more chapter of her book. She had been careful to angle the book away from Makoto on the plane, slightly paranoid she would read over her shoulder and catch her reading smut. Not just any smut, but the sexiest smut featuring two women Ami had ever read. Ami wasn't prepared for Makoto to know she was a lesbian, mostly out of fear she might figure out that she harbored some particularly romantic and lustful feelings for the thunder senshi.

"Oooh, she wants to shower… Maybe there's room for two?" Minako said to Makoto, out of Ami's range of hearing. Makoto, who had been handing Minako her large trunk, conveniently dropped it, jerking Minako down to the floor.

"Will you just… stop?!" Makoto whispered through clenched teeth. "I don't want her knowing. Ever! Okay?!"

"I don't know what you're so worried about." She huffed as she finally managed to get her trunk upright and on its wheels. "She's _obviously_ gay, and my super senshi gaydar tells me it's for a certain big-boobed chef. Just tell her already!"

"No! You're not always right! Remember when you told me that Usagi was gay? You could be wrong about this too!"

"That's a bonafide theory ma'am. A boyfriend doesn't mean anything; _you'd_ know that better than anyone." She replied as she pulled a comb out of her purse and started to attack a tangle in her blonde mane. "There's evidence for Ami's gayness, and it's scientific and stuff."

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Like what?"

Minako pointed her comb over at Ami. "You see that book she's holding? That's 'Scattered Leaves', which seems an innocent enough title. But—" she pulled her signature red bow out and started to pull her hair up, "— I've read that book and that is actually a book about two star crossed _lesbian_ lovers. Evidence."

"Wow—that kinda blows me away."

"I told you so."

"I mean, you read?"

"Oh, fuck you Makoto."

"Alrighty guys!" Time to roll out!" Haruka called. Minako and Makoto stopped their bickering long enough to pile into a taxi with Ami. They had just gotten to New Orleans, and Makoto already needed a drink.


	5. Chapter 5

_At the hotel_

Soon after arriving at the hotel, it quickly became apparent who had succeeded in their high school English class and who had not. Usagi, Makoto and Rei stood dumbly to the side while Ami, Minako and Setsuna were able to chat with the hotel staff about the area and sightseeing possibilities. Michiru and Haruka had left to finalize some last minute wedding details, but the plan was to visit the church and then have a bachelorette party later that night.

"The dialect they speak here is so unique." Ami said as she led the group up the stairs to the rooms. They had all been paired off into rooms, but luckily the rooms were all next to each other. "I think 'y'all' is a contraction for 'you all'. Fascinating…"

"Ami, we're on vacation! No smart stuff now!" Usagi complained as she struggled with her multiple bags. "We're here to celebrate and party!"

Once they reached their floor, Ami gave the keys out and the group paired off into their respective rooms. Much to Ami's delight, she and Makoto were once again paired together. After putting all their clothes away, Ami fell onto the bed, exhausted from travel.

"Ugh, I'm so tired." She remembered her book and grabbed it from her purse. "Just got one more chapter…" She mumbled as she snuggled into the comfortable bed.

Makoto sat next to her and, remembering what Minako told her, tilted slightly in an attempt to read over Ami's shoulder while not being obvious about it. "Whatchas reading? You seem really into it on the plane." Even if Minako was right, which she probably wasn't, Ami reading a book about lesbians didn't mean a thing. Ami probably just read everything and this fell into that category.

"Oh… Well, uh… it's quite good. It's… well, it's a romance novel." Ami confessed. Her friends knew she had a weakness for romance novels, but they didn't exactly know what kind.

"Oh, cool. What's the story? How do the main characters meet?" Makoto could feel herself failing at being casual as she tried to nonchalantly lie next to Ami while still trying to read over her shoulder.

"Umm… It's pretty stereotypical for a romance novel. I mean, it's nothing special." Ami said quickly and then closed the book, placing it on the table next to the bed. "I can finish it later. Probably best to get a nap in now before later, since we'll probably be up all night."

Makoto could imagine how Minako could twist that last sentence. "Oh yeah. The others have plans to get absolutely hammered. Are you going to be drinking much?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, someone has to be sober enough to take care of everyone in case something goes wrong." Ami pulled the covers back and cocooned in. "I mean, we're in a foreign country in a strange city. We gotta be careful."

Makoto laughed as she pulled her side of the covers back and threw them over herself. "You worry too much Ami. What's the worst that can happen?"


	6. Chapter 6

_After their nap_

"Wow, so how old is this place?" Rei asked in awe as the group entered the church. It was a bonafide cathedral and even though she had gone to Catholic school, she had never seen anything quite like this.

"It's over a hundred years old." Haruka replied. "However, it's no longer used for worship, which is probably how we managed to get a lesbian wedding here. We actually had to renovate it bit to get it up to par."

"So we'll be walking down this aisle?" Usagi squeaked and grabbing Rei, started to march down the aisle. "We need to practice!"

Up at the front were beautiful paintings and sculptures. Makoto found a few of them a bit morbid, especially the bloody Jesus ones, but she couldn't argue against the beauty of the place. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a tiny chamber tucked into the side of the wall. It had two doors, one on each side.

"What's that?"

"You don't watch many American movies, do you?" Michiru teased. "It's a confession booth; it's where Catholics go to confess all the dirty things they do."

"I have a couple of dirty things I'd like to confess. Granted, I'm not very sorry for them." Haruka said as she pinched Michiru's behind playfully.

"You… we're in a CHURCH." Rei whispered, much too loudly to be considered an actual whisper. "You have to be good here! You can't just be all… lesbian!"

"Don't be such a fuddy duddy. They're not the only lesbians in the room, and there's not much you can do to stop the lesbian anyways." Minako giggled. "We're unstoppable!"

"Let's go before you speak more blasphemy…" Rei muttered, as she stomped away from the alter.

"This place is beautiful, but I always imagined getting married somewhere outdoors." Makoto mused. There would be pink lanterns everywhere, with food made by her own cooking team. She would be in a beautiful fluffy dress, just like a princess.

"I've always imagined my wedding outside too." Ami said from behind her. Makoto hadn't realized she spoke loud enough for anyone to hear her. She turned and smiled, wishing that they might both have the wedding of their dreams.


	7. Chapter 7

_Later that night_

"Wow, look at all the food!" Usagi said in awe as the group arrived at the bachelorette party. Because the couple were always in the spotlight, they had decided something a bit more intimate would be more appropriate and that a good band, food and most importantly, unlimited liquor, was all that was necessary. The room wasn't large, but there was a small stage with enough space for a three piece band. Near it, there stood a table covered food and a bunch of couches to lounge and enjoy the music and chat. Usagi wasted no time in making a beeline for the catered food. A couple of waiters stood inconspicuously in the corner, looking nearly identical in their black and white outfits.

"That's Usagi for you." Setsuna said as she poured herself a glass of water from a glass bowl, not quite ready to begin drinking. "If the world is ever threatened by chocolate monsters, we could stay at home and let her take care of it."

The group laughed and Usagi stuck out her tongue at them before attacking a cupcake.

"So, what kind of booze do we have here?" Minako asked. "I didn't come to the so-called party capital of America to stay sober."

"Well, let's see." Haruka motioned for a waiter to come over. "Ami, your English is better than mine. Be a dear and ask him what drinks are available."

Ami did as she was told and the waiter responded with only a short phrase.

"… He said we can have anything we want."

"That's easy enough. Order whatever you want then!" Haruka smiled.

The other scouts wasted no time in ordering everything from a cocktail to a draft beer. They migrated to a group of couches and got comfortable. After the drinks arrived, Rei stood up and held up her –surprise—beer.

"I'd like to make a toast to Haruka and Michiru. You two deserve each other. Cheers!"

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not!" Michiru exclaimed. The group laughed and joined in the toast, everyone making sure to clink glasses with everyone else.

"Now, let's get this party started!" Minako cried as she slammed her empty shot glass on the table.


	8. Chapter 8

_The next morning_

Someone was poking Makoto. Hard. In her hung-over and drowsy state, she jerked away, trying to close her eyes tighter and block out the world. The poking got harder and she bolted awake, ready to kill someone.

It was an older man, poking her with a broom handle. He was speaking English rapidly, and she couldn't understand a word. It occurred to her than while she didn't know who he was, she didn't know _where_ she was either. It looked like… well, it looked like a strip club. In fact, judging from the large stage in the middle of the room with multiple poles, Makoto was sure it was a strip club. She had no idea how she had gotten there; the last thing she remembered was the bachelorette party, where she _had_ drank heavily.

It struck her. Where were the others? She looked around, ignoring the man who was still trying to say god-knows-what to her.

"Ami! Rei! USAGI! MINAKO! Where hell are you?!" She called, panicked. Had she been separated from the group at some point during the night? She crawled to her feet and started stumbling around the bar, her motor skills severely impacted by her horribly hangover.

"We're… ugh, we're in here!" She heard Setsuna's voice and then the sound of someone throwing up. She ran towards the voice and bolted into the bathroom. In one of the stalls she found Rei throwing up in the toilet, Setsuna holding her hair out of her face.

"You okay, Rei?" Makoto asked. Rei nodded weakly and then continued to worship at the porcelain throne. Makoto felt horrible, but not that bad. "What happened last night? I don't remember anything. Where are we?"

"I'm hung over too, Makoto, so one thing at a time." Setsuna said calmly. "First of all, as you might have guessed, we're in a strip club. I have no idea where we are and no idea what happened. I woke up behind the bar and found Rei in here, but I haven't had the chance to go ask any questions." She patted Rei on the back as the fire senshi finally sat back, with an even paler face than normal.

"Makoto… Why are you dressed like a schoolgirl?" Rei muttered as she grabbed some toilet paper to clean her mouth. Makoto looked down, noticing for the first time she was not in her own clothes. She was wearing something she might have worn in high school, had her uniform been three sizes too small.

"That… that is an excellent question, Rei." She said as she turned and looked in the mirror at herself. She was an absolute mess. The uniform was crumpled and her hair was a rat's nest. Her earrings were… Oh god, her earrings were gone.

"Shit, shit , shit!" She frantically began searching for any pockets the uniform might have, but found none. There was no telling where her most precious possession had gone. She only hoped that she had put them somewhere in her hotel room during some time of the night.

"We have to find the others. I don't think they're here." Setsuna finally said as she helped Rei to her feet. "Do you have your cell phone? Neither Rei nor I have ours."

Makoto, already having searched for pockets, shook her head.

"Well, we'll have to get back to the hotel and hope the others are there then. I'll try to get directions from that grumpy man."

Makoto nodded and she and Rei following Setsuna out of the bathroom. Other than Ami, Setsuna was the most level headed person she knew… Ami… Makoto didn't normally pray, but she hoped Ami was safe, wherever she was.


	9. Chapter 9

_Meanwhile_

"HOLY MOTHER FUCKING SHIT!"

Ami howled and ran out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Ami's uncharacteristically vulgar and loud exclamation had woken Usagi up, who was sitting naked in the middle of a bunch of feathers.

"What is it?!" Minako asked as Ami flew across the room.

"It's… it's a… Oh my fucking god…" Ami's morning had gone from a code yellow to a code super red. "There's a gator in the bathtub!"

"Like… the animal?" Usagi asked dimly, still rubbing her eyes.

"No Usagi, a member of the American football team." Ami said hysterically. "Of course it's a real one! AND IT'S IN A GIANT BLOCK OF FUCKING ICE."

"Ami, I can't believe I'm the one to tell you this, but holy shit, calm down." Minako put her arm on Ami's to try to calm her. "Let me look…" She walked over to the door, opened it a peek, and then slammed it again. When she turned around, her face was as white as a sheet.

"I have to agree with Ami about the alligator. It exist and it is _right there_." She sat down on the ruined bed."What do we do?"

Ami shut her eyes, breathed in deeply, trying her best to calm herself. She had to be calm and cool like like water and stoic… like ice… Like… a frozen fucking alligator.

When Ami finally composed herself, she knew she would have to lead the expedition. "Okay guys, this is the plan. First—"she looked over at Usagi, who was still as naked as the day she was born, "-we find her clothes. Second, we find my cell phone and try to call the others. Then, we find out where we are and try to get back to our hotel."  
Minako nodded and the trio began scrambling around the hotel room on their search. They finally found Usagi's clothes in the microwave, which thankfully had never been turned on, and Ami's cell phone had been under the mattress she had been sleeping on. Since Ami couldn't find her clothes, she grabbed the crumpled pants and tried to smooth them out.

"What's that?" Usagi, finally dressed, pointed to the harness that was still lying on the bed.

"I don't know." Ami said as she stepped into the pants and pulled them up. Surprisingly, they fit decently well. "It was in the bed when I woke up, and I was wearing different clothes."

Minako picked it up and straightened some of the straps out. It was made of leather and had a part in the middle that looked like it attached to something. "Well, I know what it is. I think it's safe to assume you were wearing it at some point last night. It's a harness for a strap-on."

"A… what? Like, a… fake penis?" She blushed at the word, and then gasped in horror as the thought struck her that might have used it on someone and didn't even remember.

"Bingo. The strap on itself isn't attached, so I have no idea if you actually, well, used it." Minako threw it back down on the bed.

Ami was still suffering from a pounding hangover, and this certainly didn't help. "Let… oh god… Let me try to call the others and try to figure this out."

She dialed Makoto's number first, but it went straight to voicemail. The same for Rei , Michiru and Setsuna. Haruka's number, however, rang but there was no answer.

"… No one picked up." Ami said softly, putting her cell phone in her pocket. She felt a piece of paper, and she pulled it out. "… What's this?"

It was a business card with a photo of an alluring woman in lingerie. It was the address and name of a business called "Kalisto's Kink Shop".

"Minako, I can't remember what 'kink' means." She said, turning the card over and looking for any additional information. She handed Minako the card. "I found this in my pocket just now."

Minako looked it over. "Hrm… I bet this explains the harness and your clothes. It's basically a sex shop." She handed it back. "Looks like you've found a clue."

"Well, jenkies…" Ami put it back in her pocket. "Let's figure out where we are and get back to the hotel. Maybe we'll find the others there."


	10. Chapter 10

The trek back to the hotel had been long, and for Makoto, embarrassing. She couldn't understand English very well, but she understood the whistles that followed her down the street. She'd be happy to finally change and shower. The whole group smelled like cigarette smoke and who-knows what else. They all had lost their room keys and the man at the front desk quickly replaced them, although his eyes lingered on Makoto too long for her liking.

"Time to get upstairs and-"

"MAKOTO!"

Makoto spun around when she heard Ami's voice and saw her, Usagi, and Minako walking through the door looking equally as dirty and tousled. The worry was lifted off Makoto's chest. Ami looked dingy, just like the rest of them did, but she was safe. But… why was she wearing a suit?

"Rei-chan, I'm so glad you're safe!" Usagi ran over and nearly tackled Rei.

"Usagi, I'm fine. No need to worry." She patted Usagi on the head, her tough words undercut by the fact that she was obviously happy to see Usagi.

"Are Haruka and Michiru with you guys?" Minako asked.

"Holy shit, what happened to your hair?" Makoto had finally torn her eyes away from Ami, only to be startled by Minako's transformation. She was so used to seeing Minako with her long hair; now, it was shorter than Haruka's.

"I have no idea." Minako sadly ran her fingers through what was left of her hair. "I feel like a little boy or something ."

"Don't fret, Minako. You're the senshi of beauty and love—you'll always be beautiful." Setsuna said, trying to cheer her up. It worked and Minako let a small smile sip through. "But no, Haruka and Michiru are not with us."

"I tried calling them earlier and Haruka's phone rang, but she didn't answer. Michiru's phone went straight to voicemail." Ami pulled her phone out of her pocket. "And neither has tried to call me back. I'll ask the front desk if the staff saw them at any time last night."

Ami's conversation with the front desk gave them almost no new information. None of the hotel staff remembered seeing Haruka or Michiru return, and when Ami called their hotel room, no one answered. The staff were only able to tell them that the group had left together at some time during the bachelorette party, but they didn't know where. When Ami inquired about their lost items, the rest of the senshi sighed in relief when the hotel clerk pulled out a bin from behind the counter and said they had found all their cell phones where the party had been held. Makoto and the others claimed their phones, but noticed that Haruka and Michiru's were still in the bin.

"Do any of you guys remember leaving?" Makoto asked as the group walked away from the desk and toward the rooms. Everyone shook their heads. The consensus was that no one recalled anything after drinking at the party.

"This is insane. We all couldn't have drunk that much." Rei said, clearly exasperated. "Something else is happening here."

"We can worry about our tolerance later." Ami replied. "But for now our biggest problem is that Michiru and Haruka are missing. We need to clean up, grab a quick meal, and then figure out what happened. Maybe then we'll find them or find someone who knows where they are. I'll get the front desk to give me all the numbers to all the emergency rooms in the city. If they were hurt, they might be there. Meet back here in one hour."

Everyone nodded at Ami, who had somehow become the new leader, and headed upstairs to clean up. Makoto stayed behind with Ami while she collected the numbers, and then the pair started walking upstairs to their room.

"Ami, why are you wearing a suit?"

"I was just about to ask why you're wearing a school girl's uniform."

"… Nevermind."

After hot showers, clean clothes, and a bite to eat, the senshi regrouped downstairs. Stories were swapped, although Ami left out the strap-on harness she had found and thankfully, Minako and Usagi didn't fill in that minor detail. She showed everyone the business card that she had found in her pocket and they headed out in search of their only lead.

"It's fortunate that the address was on the back." Setsuna said as she led them down the street using a map on her smart phone. It had only been a few blocks away, which made sense—they didn't think that they could have travelled very far in their super inebriated state. "Maybe someone remembers us coming in or can tell us when we came in."

"Precisely." Ami agreed. "If anything else, I'm sure they have video security cameras."

"I think the strip club we ended up at is near there as well." Makoto said. "We're going the same route as we did when we made our way back to the hotel." That was a walk she would never forget, although the school girl outfit had been cooler to wear in the intense heat. Even though they had only been walking for ten minutes, Makoto could feel the sweat almost rolling down her temples.

"I've been thinking about that." Rei said as they rounded the corner, Setsuna still leading the way. "Both Makoto and Ami ended up in different clothes, while the rest of us had our clothes on or," She looked over at Usagi and sniggered, "or, at least were at least nearby. Maybe you guys got your outfits at this sex shop—if they're like the ones in Japan, they'd probably carry stuff like that."

"And what would you know about sex shops?" Minako teased. "Do you have some big sexual secret we don't know about?" Despite already being red from the heat, Rei blushed and shot her a searing look. Makoto rolled her eyes. Despite the crazy situation, Minako still found time to tease everyone. She absentmindedly wondered what dirt it was that Minako had on Rei—if she had caught onto the idea that Makoto was crazy for Ami, maybe she had picked up on something from Rei, like she was secretly into bondage or something crazy.

"Well, this is it." Setsuna said as they stopped in front of a store a few blocks later. Even from outside the store, it was clear that Kallisto's was a sex shop; mannequins sporting all sorts of lacey and leather lingerie filled the window and Makoto thought that they might be advertising dildos.

"Well," Ami said as she opened the door, "Let's go in. What we're bound to find something out."

As soon as they opened the door, Makoto confirmed that yes, this store did sell dildos. An older woman stood behind the counter in the back, yawning and absentmindedly playing on her phone. She looked up at the group that just walked in and her eyes lit up and she leapt from behind the counter, saying something in English that Makoto couldn't understand. She ran over the Ami and hugged her, causing the ice senshi to freeze in place.

"Is this a friend of you—" Makoto was about to be funny, but was then cut off when the woman ran over to her and threw her arms around her as well. The woman started speaking to her in English and Makoto could only catch a few words –Fun? Money? And… girlfriend?

"What is she saying?" Makoto squeaked, moving away from the woman quickly.

"She's saying it's good to see her favorite couple. Apparently, you guys really saved her last night with a major sale." Minako translated. Ami's face looked like it was simultaneously trying to blush and lose color.

"Her favorite couple? Who? Michiru and Haruka aren't here." Rei said as she watched the woman walk over the Minako and begin to ruffle her hair. She began speaking to her as well, and despite Minako's skill in English, it was clear that Minako was confused.

"…Actually, I think she means you guys." Setsuna said, looking over at Makoto and Ami. Within half a second, Makoto's brain froze, shut down, and then reboot.

"Uhh—us? Wha-what do you mean us?" Makoto stuttered. She couldn't remember anything about the night before, but it never occurred to her that something could have happened between her and Ami. She didn't know whether to be happy, because that way Ami wouldn't remember either, or sad, because she didn't remember either.

"I don't know—I need to question her more thoroughly." Ami replied, clearly nervous. Makoto had the horrible thought that Ami might be disgusted at whatever had happened between them, if anything at all. Ami approached the woman again, brought her off to the side, and began the interrogation.

"So, what do you think happened between you guys last night?" Minako asked Makoto with a wink as soon as Ami moved out of earshot. "You think you finally made your move?"

"Shut. Up. Minako." Makoto said through gritted teeth. "Probably nothing happened. And if anything did, probably nothing that Ami wanted!" She stomped off towards the back of the store where there were, trying to disappear among the scantily dressed mannequins. Her chest felt heavy and her throat was tight—even in battles with monsters, Makoto couldn't remember a moment she had been more petrified. What if she had done something to Ami against her will? What if she had pressured her, or Ami hadn't been in the right mind to consent to something? She wanted to cry. She could be fine with the person she loved never loving her back, but she couldn't forgive herself if she had hurt her Ami-chan.

"Makoto…" She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Minako looking at her, no longer playful. "I shouldn't have joked about this. We're all confused about last night and I didn't help. You're probably really scared because you care for Ami so much."

Makoto looked at her, then sighed. She couldn't stay mad at Minako for long—she was one of her best friends, and the one who knew her most prized secret. "Yeah, I'm just afraid that I did something that hurt Ami, or that she wasn't comfortable with." She took a deep breathe. "It's just… not how I imagined my feelings to come out, you know?"

Minako nodded. "No, I completely understand. And, while I still think Ami's still a secret lesbian—" Makoto glared at her, but Minako ignored it and continued"—your feelings are still important. I'm sure that no matter what happened last night, Ami will forgive—"she stopped speaking mid-sentence and walked past Makoto towards more mannequins. "Oh my god, it's your outfits! You did get them here!"

Makoto looked behind her, and sure enough, Minako was standing next to two mannequins, one wearing Ami's suit and the other in her school girl outfit. There was a sign next to the outfits advertising some kind of sex toy, but Makoto couldn't read the sign. It looked like some kind of dildo with a harness, and the gift of the sign suggested that buying the outfits meant getting the toy, or something.

"Minako, what does the sign say?"

"Oh, it says that if you buy both of the outfits that you get the strap-on for only $10. It's actually a pretty good deal—I guess that's why Ami ended up with it."

Makoto's eyes shot over to Minako. "What did you say?"

Minako looked over at Makoto sheepishly. "Well shit, I don't think I was supposed to say. This morning, Ami woke up in half of this suit and with this next to her. The strap on itself wasn't there, but the harness was. I assume she wore it sometime in the night."

For the second time in ten minutes, Makoto's mind underwent a complete reboot. It was barely starting up when Ami walked over to her and Minako, finally done with the shopkeeper.

"What'd you find out?" Minako asked, clearly eager to not finish the strap-on conversation.

"Well, I found out that we were indeed here last night when she was working the overnight shift." Ami's eyes flashed towards the costumes. "And that Makoto and I bought those costumes from her, which was a big enough sale to save her job." Makoto couldn't help but notice that she declined to mention the toy.

"Also," Ami continued, "She was able to tell us where we came from, so we have more leads as to what happened last night." Makoto noticed her cheeks took on a very subtle pink color.

"Well, where did we go?" Asked Minako, who was no longer looking at the pair, but inspecting a pair of garters on a mannequin.

"An anime convention."


	11. Chapter 11

"Wait, they have anime conventions here? That's not just limited to Japan?"

"Anime is popular all over the globe, Setsuna." Ami replied as she opened her map app on her phone. Thanks to the internet, she had quickly been able to find out the name of the anime convention in town and the address of the hotel. "And luckily, we're close to the hotel—it's called the Hilton and is only a few blocks ahead."

"Good, because it's so hottttt!" Usagi whined. Usagi usually complained too much, but this time she was right—it was now high noon and the sun glared at the group from overhead. Ami thought that this was what ants under a magnifying glass must feel like. The concrete landscape of the city did nothing to shield them from the heat, and the humidity just made it worse. Ami was glad for her short hair, which helped a little.

"We're all boiling, Usagi." Rei said, then grabbed the odangoed girl by the arm and started walking down the street towards the Hilton. "And I'm sure it won't be any better at a con filled with fat and sweaty otakus."

Setsuna and Minako followed, with Ami and Makoto walking side by side, slowly trailing behind. Ami knew that Makoto probably had questions. She was silently grateful that neither of them remembered the night before—whatever happened, it seemed like it took their relationship to a whole new level. She welcomed the thought, but she wasn't sure about Mako.

"Hey, Ami-chan, I gotta ask you something… It's about last night." Mako's voice broke her from her thoughts, almost as if she had been reading them. "Why didn't you tell me about the… about the toy?"

"The toy?" Ami squeaked. She had been prepared for a few questions, but not this one. "How-how did you know?"

Makoto pointed down the street at the now short-haired senshi of love who was a block ahead of them with Setsuna. "Minako let it slip earlier. Don't be mad at her—it was an accident. But I don't know why you didn't at least say something about it."

Ami looked down, blushing. There were so many reasons. Where to begin? And how to make sure that none of the reasons revealed her feelings? "Well…" she began slowly, "…I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"I don't know. We're still unsure about what happened last night, so I thought it would be one less thing for you to worry about. And…" She stopped on the sidewalk and took a deep breath and looked up at Makoto, "…I found the harness in bed with me, tangled in my pants. I'm-I'm assuming that I wore it, and I don't know what that means. I don't know if—I didn't want you to think…" She trailed off, her courage failing. Her eyes swept down and began to inspect her shoes, not knowing how to continue. She felt a hand lift her chin up and she found herself looking into Makoto's green eyes.

"Think what, Ami?" They were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, people streaming around them in both directions, but they escaped Ami's notice. Her heart was pounding, her mouth was dry, and her whole body was hot—despite the overwhelming external heat, she knew this was internal.

Ami's found her hands reaching up and grabbing Mako's hand, which was still cupping her chin. She squeezed it tight and then spoke, using all of her concentration to form the words.

"The woman—the shopkeeper—told me she thought we were together because we were so affectionate in her shop last night, and apparently," she turned a deeper shade of red, "said some pretty sexual things to each other when we found those outfits." She squeezed Makoto's hand, clinging onto it. She felt tears rising up, burning her eyes. "I… I hid it from you because I was afraid something happened last night… Something you didn't want and if you found out, you would be angry at me… You'd hate me…" She trailed off, tears escaping her closely guarded eyelids.

Suddenly, she was pulled against Makoto. One of Mako's arms was around her back, gripping her close, and her other hand was in Ami's hair, stroking it softly. She was so strong, Ami couldn't have gotten away if she wanted, but she didn't want to.

"Never… I could never be angry at you, Ami. I… I love you too much to ever be." Ami's heart caught at the l-word, but her mind quickly took over and assured her that Makoto hadn't meant in _that_ way. Still, she wrapped her arms around the much taller girl, burrowing into her shoulder and let the remaining tears fall. Makoto continued to softly stroke her hair, people continuing to stream past them.

The pair finally separated, Ami wiping her eyes; she knew she probably looked a mess, and she couldn't imagine what the people on street thought. Now she felt awkward—what was she supposed to say?

Thankfully, she was saved by the sound of Makoto's cell phone ringing. Makoto looked reluctant to answer, but she swiped the screen anyways.

"Hey, Minako—what's up? Oh, I see. Yeah, we'll be there in a minute." She hung up and looked at Ami. "Well, they reached the hotel where the convention is. They're waiting on us in the lobby, so I guess we need to get there soon."

Ami turned around to begin the trek to the hotel, but Mako gently grabbed her arm and turned her back around.

"Ami, let's not worry about it for now. Once we find out what happened, we can talk more about it. " She smiled softly and let go of Ami's arm. "But, just know I could never be made at you. Okay?"

Ami nodded, and the pair began walking again down the hot street towards the hotel.


	12. Chapter 12

"Can you guys BELIEVE this place?!" Ami and Makoto were accosted at the front of the hotel by a very excited Usagi. "Check this out!" Her excitement couldn't hold her back—she proceeded to run into the revolving doors at the front of the hotel, following them around and around.

Ami and Makoto couldn't help but laugh, and Makoto was glad Usagi was there to break the tension. She had been surprised that Ami had some of the same fears she had, but also sorry she had been the source of so much anxiety. Makoto wasn't sure what had happened the night before, but she was sure they would figure it out sooner or later.

They were soon joined by Minako, Setsuna, and Rei, and after rescuing Usagi from a burly security guard (apparently, the doors were _not_ for having fun) they entered the hotel. They were quickly lost in a crowd of people, many wearing costumes and some stopping occasionally to have their photo taken. There was an escalator to the left that went to the second floor, a wide hallway to the right that seemed to hold more convention festivities, and in the middle of the lobby, a restaurant with a beautiful bar. Makoto checked her watch—it was only 1:30pm, but they still hadn't been able to find Haruka or Michiru.

"'Welcome to Mechacon!'" Minako read on one of the signs. "Huh, well, if the costumes weren't a clue, we're definitely in the right place."

Setsuna nodded. "The shopkeeper said we came from here to the shop, so maybe someone around here remembers seeing us or Haruka and Michiru. We should ask around, and maybe someone can give us some information."

"We should split up! Rei and I'll go upstairs—" Usagi began, but was cut off.

"Sorry, Freddy, I think we should stay together on this one." Ami said. "The convention is simply too large—it would be very easy to lose one another, and contacting each other and regrouping would take too much time."

Usagi's lip stuck out in a pout, but Rei patted her on the shoulder. "She's got a point—besides, your English is so terrible we'd never be able to communicate with anyone here."

"MY English is bad?! Yours is even worse!" Usagi retorted, and the two began to bicker back and forth in their usual fashion. The others rolled their eyes and looked to Ami.

"Well, Velma, what should we do?" Minako asked. "And when did we all become such big _Scooby Doo_ fans? I swear this isn't the first time it's been referenced on this trip."

Ami shruggled. "Well, I'm uncertain about that, but I think our best course of action would be to ask the convention workers. Based on what we gathered at the shop, our behavior seems to have been… altered. There's a chance we might have been… noticed here as well."

"Yeah, it's a shame you guys didn't have those costumes at the convention—you guys would blend in just fine with all these cosplayers." Minako had her phone out and was trying to take a photo of a scantily dressed woman in armor. "I gotta tell you, I think I like cons."

After pulling apart Rei and Usagi, the group began their search. Setsuna, Ami and Minako led the way, pulling aside anyone with a volunteer shirt. Setsuna had a photo of Haruka and Michiru on her phone and used it to ask if anyone had seen the pair. Over an hour later, after interviewing dozens of volunteers and getting no leads, Makoto was beginning to lose hope, and she was beginning to see defeat in the eyes of the other senshi as well. She recommended that they take a break and grab something to drink at the café upstairs and see if they could think of a new plan. The group agreed and they soon found themselves sitting around a table with drinks.

"So, all we still know is that we came here and went to that sex shop after. We don't know anything else?" Rei began, stirring sugar into her coffee. "No other clues?"

Ami shook her head. "Well, we know we ended up in a hotel room later that night with, and this morning, we found that thing in the _bathtub_."

"How can we forget? You've never had such a potty mouth as you did this morning." Minako joked as she opened her soda. "What should we do about that, anyways? We just kinda left it there."

"I don't think there was anything we could do." Setsuna replied, "After all, according to the owner, that room wasn't even booked, so we were in there without the hotel knowing about it. We must have snuck in their later the evening."

"With a giant reptile in tow? No, something else must've happened." Makoto said as she slowly sipped her water. "Someone would have seen us with it, whether it was frozen or not." No one else added anything. Makoto couldn't imagine how they would be able to solve this mystery with the sparse evidence they had. The alligator was the least of their issues—Haruka and Michiru were missing, as was the bulk of Minako's hair. She couldn't even fully explain their amnesia—surely, someone would have remembered something.

"Ick, this is gross." Usagi broke the silence after taking a swig of her bottled water. "The water in this city tastes icky—it did at the party last night too. Ami, do you have any more of that water flavoring?"

"Water… flavoring?" Ami furrowed her brows. "What are you talking about? I never had any."

"Yes you did—last night, I found it in your purse. It was a packet of powder in a flavoring packet, so I dumped it that big water container on the table." Usagi explained as she took another swig of her water, making another sour face. "The water had suck a funky taste, I had to do something."

Makoto saw Ami freeze. "Usagi, that wasn't flavoring! You put an incredibly concentrated muscle relaxant in the drinking water, which is NOT supposed to be combined with alcohol." Makoto could see the gears in Ami's head whirring. "How much of the packet did you pour in?"

"… The whole thing…" Usagi said reluctantly. She looked over at Rei, who was glaring at her, and Usagi promptly burst into tears. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Ami's eyes grew wide. "In that case, if the water cooler was full, and that's only if, and all of us drank a glass, that still means we each had about four times the recommended dose." She rubbed her temple, looking as if a headache was coming on. "And with the amount of alcohol we had been drinking… I think we now have the answer why we all have amnesia and we acted so bizarrely last night."

"I'm—hic—so—sorry!" Usagi continued to bawl, earning strange looks from the tables around them. Rei sighed and patted her on the back, trying to comfort her so the flood would stop.

"Well, we can't do anything about it now." Makoto said, standing up. "We need to find someone who saw us last night, or can tell us something about Haruka and Michiru. Their wedding is tomorrow, and you can't have a wedding without two brides!" In her eagerness to sound brave, she hadn't thought through what she was going to say. She saw Minako cock an eyebrow at her, clearly fighting the urge to say something clever. "Ahem, well, what I mean is that we need to find them!" The rest of the senshi stood up, clearly inspired, if not by Makoto's eloquence, then maybe by her excitement.

Suddenly, they heard someone shouted Minako's name. They all turned around to see a guy walking towards them. Makoto didn't know him, but she couldn't trust that they hadn't met last night. He was wearing a black tee shirt and vest with a flat bill cap that had the English letters "MNP" on it. Makoto was sure that wasn't a word, but would have to check with Ami. He walked up to Minako and picked her up in a bear hug, then set her back down and pointed at her hair. Although clearly a bit flustered, she began talking to him in English. After a minute, she turned to the rest of the group, leading the guy over by the arm.

"I think we found our lead-this is Van. Apparently, he was running some awesome dance last night and we showed up and stole the party!" Minako ran her fingers through her short hair. "Plus, he was able to tell me that I still had long hair last night when he last saw us."

Ami and Setsuna, the other two English speakers, also gathered around Van, Setsuna pulling out her phone for the photo. Usagi walked away to find tissue for her still-runny nose, while Rei and Makoto, standing over to the side, returned Van's enthusiastic wave.

"Hey, Makoto. What kept you and Ami so long? You guys took forever to get here." Rei asked as she kept an eye on Usagi, making sure she didn't wander too far off. Makoto watched the other senshi question Van, who seemed to be answering all of their questions.

"Oh, it was nothing." Mako answered, and then grumbled, "…nothing Minako won't tease me for later, anyways…"

Rei's hearing was better than Makoto anticipated. "What? Minako is teasing you? Does she have some dirt on you?"

Makoto cursed her thinking aloud—she hadn't meant Rei to hear that. "Eh, that's not what I meant—Minako's just been giving me a hard time lately. It's just her personality."

Rei nodded. "No, I understand. She's been giving me a hard time too, although she always manages to do so when no one else can hear."

Curious as to why Minako could be giving Rei such a hard time, Makoto began to pry further, but was interrupted when the rest of the group returned to them, waving to Van as he walked away.

"He is SO sweet! He's even heard of Sailor V and thinks I'm a dead-ringer for her!" Minako laughed as she blew a good-bye kiss to Van. "Boy, if he knew the truth!"

"You get anything else out of him?" Usagi asked as she took a bite out of a cookie. Makoto rolled her eyes—Usagi must've found out that the café served sweets too.

"As a matter of fact, yes!" Ami replied. She pointed down the hallway. "He gave us the names of two friends working down this way who might know where Haruka and Michiru are. They were running some kind of event last night and told him about two women who matched their description. He didn't have the details, but apparently, they made quite the scene."


	13. Chapter 13

They made their way down the crowded hallway as quickly as possible and found themselves in front of a huge room filled with merchandise. Two girls and a guy were standing in front of the entrance, checking people for badges as they walked in. One of the girls had really long hair and wore glasses, while the other girl had short brown hair. Ami managed to get a glimpse of their name badges, and they matched the names Van had given them, Kristen and Sunny.

Setsuna approached first and started talking to them, showing them the photo of Haruka and Michiru. The reaction was instantaneous—the two girls started pointing at the photos and laughing. The short haired girl named Sunny pulled out a phone and showed Setsuna something on the screen.

"You guys might want to see this." Setsuna said as she waved the group over. "These two say they have… photos of last night."

They all crowded around the phone and Sunny slowly swiped through the photos. The other girl, Kristen, began an explanation.

"Apparently, they were working at a lesbian dating game in which people dress up in costumes and participate." Setsuna translated. The photos were of a stage that had been split by a large curtain; three women in costumes sat on one side, and a single woman sat on the other side. "The woman on one side asks the three contestants questions, but can't see them. At the end of the round, she chooses the woman who has pleased her the most with their answers and they both get some kind of prize."

"But where are Michiru and Haruka?" Rei asked, and Setsuna translated this to the dark-haired girl, who answered quickly; Sunny began to swipe through the photos faster.

"She said they are about to make an appearance…" Minako said, watching the screen.

Suddenly, Haruka appeared in one of the photos, jumping onto the stage. The next photo had Michiru right behind her. Then, they were standing on the stage together, talking to the audience. The next swipe went to a video and Sunny hit play. Michiru and Haruka were talking to the audience in English, and the contestants on the stage looked confused, albeit entertained.

"What are they saying? I can't understand." Makoto whispered in Ami's ear as she moved closer to her. Ami blushed not only because of the closeness, but also because what was being said was incredibly raunchy.

"Haruka… Well, at first she was talking about how this game isn't right because they can't see each other and appreciate their good looks. But now…" Her blush reached up to her ears. "…she and Michiru are giving advice to the crowd on how to… how to pleasure your woman in bed." Her eyes darted over to Makoto and then darted back to the screen. What Haruka was saying was a lot more graphic than just that, which was becoming apparent as she and Michiru were using some pretty explicit hand motions and body language. Although, she had to admit, she was learning a thing or two from the speech.

"Is that all they're doing? Lecturing—oh god, nevermind." Rei began, but then the video showed Haruka and Michiru making out passionately on stage and get more than a little handsy. The crowd in the background went wild, and then the video jarred, the recorder clearly moving towards the stage. Haruka screamed something from the stage, and then the video ended off.

"What did Haruka yell?" Makoto asked.

"Something like "We're going to get married!"" Ami translated before Kristen began speaking to the group again.

"I don't know, I think I learned a ton from the video. Gonna store that info away for later." Minako said as she winked at Setsuna, causing a faint blush appeared on Setsuna's cheeks. Setsuna turned back towards the girls, asking them more questions, but the girls just continued shaking their heads no, clearly out of answers. The short haired girl went to put her phone into her back pocket, but somehow fumbled and the phone hit the floor. Setsuna bent down and grabbed the phone, then handed it back to her and turned back towards the senshi.

"Didn't know you had a tattoo, Setsuna." Minako remarked. "Didn't know you'd be that type."

"I... tattoo?" Setsuna replied, clearly confused. "I don't have a tattoo."

Minako shook her head. "But I just saw one—on your lower back. When you bent over, your top rode up. It's super small, but it's there."

Setsuna's eyes widened and her mouth fell open; Ami could tell she was beginning to panic. "No—don't tell me I didn't…" She pulled up her top slightly and turned circles trying to look at her own back.

"Stop chasin' your tail Setsuna." Minako said as she grabbed Setsuna's shoulders and stopped her from moving. The senshi all crowded around her back, and once she stopped moving, Ami could see the tattoo clearly. Like Minako said, it was tiny, but it was there—a small stylized heart with wings. The ink and the skin around it were shiny, a clear indication of how new it was. The doctor in Ami automatically began to look for redness or infection, but thankfully, there everything looked fine.

"Oh, Setsuna, it's super cute!" Usagi squealed. "I kinda want one too! It could be worse—like, it could be some scary tattoo on your face or something."

"Thank you for looking on the bright side, Usagi." Setsuna said as she pulled her top down and turned around to face the group. "I'm not thrilled with this addition, but I suppose it could be worse."

"That's not the only silver lining." Ami piped in, and the whole group turned to look at her. "Gang, we've found another clue."


	14. Chapter 14

Makoto loved a lot of things about Ami, but her intellect was definitely at the top of the list, especially in this situation. She would have never thought of Setsuna's new ink as a clue, but her beloved genius had. Ami explained that Setsuna probably received the tattoo at a nearby shop—if they found that shop, perhaps they could get more information.

It was a surprise to them all that there weren't very many tattoo parlors nearby, or at least not too many within walking distance. Makoto hoped that they hadn't caught a bus or taxi to go anywhere—if they had, there's no way they could feasibly find where Setsuna's tattoo came from. Ami mapped out three parlors that were the most likely suspects while reminding the group that even if Setsuna had gotten her tattoo at one of these places, it wasn't a given that anyone there would remember. It was a slim chance, but their only option.

The senshi set out and began knocking shops off the list. The first shop was incredibly trashy, and Makoto could tell that Setsuna was crossing her fingers that this wasn't the place she got her tattoo. Either it wasn't the place or no one could remember, but they left without success. The second location was much cleaner, but they still had no luck. As they walked into the third shop, Makoto was crossing her fingers along with Setsuna; Ami went up to the counter and asked a woman covered with piercings if any artists from the previous night were there.

"She said one of them just walked in. She's going to get him." Ami reported as the woman disappeared behind a curtain behind the counter. In the few minutes she was gone, the senshi couldn't help but begin looking around the store. Setsuna was eyed products while Rei and Usagi tried guessing what certain piercings were for. Ami patiently remained at the counter while Makoto stood further back. Finally, the woman returned with a skinny young man with slicked back hair and tons of tattoos. He stood behind the counter and began to look Ami up and down. He began talking to Ami, but continued to make it clear he was letting his eyes roam. Makoto could tell Ami was uncomfortable and was doing her best to keep him at a distance.

"You gonna let him disrespect your lady like that?" Minako whispered to Makoto. "He's basically eye-fucking her, and he's hitting on her pretty hard-you gonna let that slide?" Makoto knew that Minako was just teasing her and trying to get under her skin, but she was right. The guy was a total creep. She saw him reach over to try to touch Ami's arm, who jerked away, shaking her head. She instantly found herself next to Ami with an arm on her shoulder.

"What's he saying, Ami?" She shot the guy the meanest look she could muster, hoping he would get the message. It had been awhile since Makoto picked a fight, but she couldn't ignore her protective instincts. "I can't understand him, but it looks like he's making you uncomfortable."

She thought she saw Ami blush before nodding. "I'm fine, Makoto. I don't want to leave without answers though. I asked him if he had seen Setsuna before, and he said he had tattooed her last night. He said she had lost some kind of bet, as had Minako. He's the one who cut her hair too."

"A bet? What kind of bet?" Makoto asked, then added, "Let me know if he says anything inappropriate."

Ami nodded and posed the question to the artist, who seemed like he had an answer.

"He's not completely sure, but apparently there was a contest nearby or something—Minako and Setsuna lost, and they had placed a bet that if they lost they would do something." Her eyebrows furrowed. "He knows the name of the place, but doesn't want to give it to me unless I give him my number."

"Ah," Makoto said, keeping her temper under control. She slide her arm around Ami's waist and pulled her close. "Tell him you're spoken for." She couldn't believe what she was doing- maybe she'd be able to laugh this off later, but for her, it was the only alternative to getting in a fight.

Ami looked up at her and turned bright red, but Makoto noticed that she didn't pull away. Instead, she slid her arm around Makoto, saying something short and curt to the artist. Makoto nearly flinched from surprise, but managed to keep her body language under control. He waved his hands in front of him and Makoto thought she caught an "I'm sorry". He turned around and walked over to a display board covered with business cards. He searched for a moment, then plucked off a card and handed it to Ami. Ami bowed slightly and thanked him, then the pair walked away from the counter and out the door, still arm and arm.

"So… what'd you tell him?" Makoto asked as soon as they were outside the door. The other senshi had yet to follow, so she had a moment alone with Ami. She slowly took her arm from around Ami, noticing Ami was a little slower to let go—her heart quickened at the thought. "He gave the business card up pretty quick."

Ami blushed again, which Makoto noted she had been doing a lot on this trip. "Well… I told him I wasn't interested in men. He was quickly dissuaded."

" Ahh… I see." Makoto murmured, wishing that really was the case. "Well, you must've been pretty convincing."

Ami looked down at the ground, shuffling her feet. She looked so nervous—like she wanted to say something. After a couple of awkward moments, she looked up at Makoto.

"Mako, I was convincing because I wasn't lying."

Heat filled Makoto's face as she processed what Ami was saying. Was Ami saying… was she saying she liked women? Was she coming out, and here, of all places? She couldn't help but let her heart flutter at the thought. Was… was she saying there's a chance? If that's what Ami was really saying, Minako would have complete rights to a lifetime of "I told you so"s. At that thought, Makoto let out an audible groan.

As if the thought had summoned her, Minako and the other senshi exited the parlor.

"Where to next, gang?" The now short-haired blonde asked. "We get any new leads?"

Makoto shrugged. "I think so. The guy said he was the one who cut your hair and tattooed Setsuna. Apparently, you two lost a bet; he gave Ami a business card, which seems to be as good of a clue as any." She looked over at her crush, still trying to figure out what Ami meant. She noticed a change in Ami's demeanor—she now looked like someone had kicked her dog, if she had one. She hadn't looked like that when they walked out of the shop.

"At least this place was decently clean. They at least sell sanitary products to clean tattoos. I really don't want an infection." Setsuna gestured to a small bag in her hand. "So Ami, where to next?"

Makoto could tell that Ami was doing her best to hide whatever had come over her from the other scouts. Ami held up the card for the entire group to see.

"There's no way to get-around it. Gang, we went to a strip club last night."


	15. Chapter 15

Her announcement was received with silence, and then panic.

"A what!?" Rei gasped.

"We went WHERE?" Usagi cried.

"Well that sucks." Minako pouted. "First time at a titty bar and I don't even remember it." The group collectively rolled their eyes. "But wait—how is place related to a bet? I lost all my hair and Setsuna got a tramp stamp." Seeing Setsuna's eyebrow arch at "tramp stamp", she clarified, "I—I mean, she got some high quality ink on her breathtaking back."

"It sounded like there was a bet made at this bar that later led us here." Ami answered. She pulled out her phone, checking the time and opening a map app. She quickly found the location of the bar, noting the number of blocks and turns. "But we need to check it out to be sure. It's close to 5pm, so maybe this place will be open. Luckily, it's less than a mile away."

Despite Usagi's groans about the distance, the group set off towards the club, Ami leading the way. She kept her eyes on her phone, occasionally glancing up to make sure she wasn't walking into traffic. She knew the route perfectly—she had memorized it in a single glance—but she had to keep her focus on something so her face wouldn't betray her inner emotions.

Ami prided herself on being the one with the plan, the one to always look dozens of moves ahead and then make a decision. What happened back at the tattoo parlor had thrown her, and she chided herself on making something big out of something so small. Mako-chan had done that and said that just to help her out of a jam. She was a true friend like that.

But there had been a moment… that small moment, when she wrapped her arm around the taller girl and told that guy that this woman was her girlfriend that she wanted so badly to believe it. For that small instance, Mako-chan was holding her and she got to tell someone—a complete stranger!—her feelings for her.

She knew it was that short moment that made her speak rashly and come out. She didn't know why keeping it from Makoto and the others was such a big deal to her. After all, two of their best female friends were getting married to each other, and Minako made her sexuality no secret. Makoto didn't care, and Ami knew she would support her too.

But her reaction had been less than reassuring. She had actually groaned out loud—Ami couldn't imagine what that was about. And with the emotional hug earlier, and everything going wrong on this trip, she couldn't help but be paranoid that Mako-chan had figured it out. She couldn't imagine things being more complicated than they were right now.

The grouped continued on with Ami alone in the lead. Finally, after walking a few more minutes, they arrived. Ami thought it certainly didn't look very much like a strip club. Unlike the other clubs they had passed, there weren't posters with scantily clad woman or neon signs with "XXX" or "bare skin". The front was a solid black, the name of the club in a white, floral typeset. On the outside, the place actually looked classy—well, as classy as a strip club in New Orleans could.

"Lister's Lounge?" Minako read the name aloud. "Is this it?"

Ami nodded. "It matches the name and address on the card, so it has to be." She opened the door and waved her friends inside. "We better find out what we can."

Ami found herself once again surprised as the inside of the club was fairly clean. There was a circular stage in the middle of the room with a catwalk connecting it to a stage in the back. The fact it was a strip club was confirmed by the multiple poles, two on the center stage and two on the backstage. On the other side of the room was a well-stocked bar and Ami could see two women working rapidly to get ready for tonight's customers. Between the bar and the stages, there were tall black tables and square leather sofas. Like the front of the club, nearly everything inside was black—even the workers wore black outfits. The only color in the room, besides the silver poles on the stages, was a sizable rainbow flag above the bar.

"I'll be! My first titty bar ended up being a gay one! How appropriate!" Minako exclaimed. "What are the odds of that?"

"Well, if Michiru and Haruka were with us, probably 100%." Rei replied. "At least we know we weren't in some gross club with a bunch of horny sweaty men."

"Have something against men, now do ya?" Minako said with a sly smile. Ami saw Rei glare at Minako, her face slightly coloring.

"Minako, stop it." Makoto said impatiently, the sharp tone catching Ami as well as Minako by surprise. "Can someone who speaks English go and talk to those women so we can figure out what happened?" She ran her hair through her hair and began fiddling with her ear. For the first time, Ami noticed Mako wasn't wearing her rose earrings. She had literally never—NEVER—seen her without them.

There was an awkward silence in the group before Setsuna and Minako volunteered to go speak to the staff. Rei and Usagi started chatting about the club while Makoto paced nervously to the sideAmi knew that could be from a million different things, and there was no telling what. At best, it could be her missing earrings. At worst… Ami didn't want to consider the worst. She knew she should just wait it out and let the Makoto begin the conversation; that would be the smart thing to do, the Ami thing to do. But she hadn't been acting like herself lately.

"Hey, Mako-chan…" She approached the much taller girl nervously, who seemed to be doing her best to wear the floor down with her pacing. "You… you seem…" At the last moment, she lost her courage. "… Where did your earrings go? I just noticed that they were missing."

Makoto stopped in her tracks, her eyes snapping over to Ami. She reached up and touched her bare lobes again, then shook her head. "I don't know. I woke up without them."

"Oh…" Ami replied. "Were they in the hotel room?"

Makoto just shook her head again and looked down at her feet. Ami wasn't encouraged, but decided to press on. "Well, I'm sure-

"Hey! The owner said she has a video of us from last night!" Minako cut her off as she ran up to the pair. "I don't want to scare you guys prematurely, but it seems like we all put on quite the show."

A million different scenarios ran through Ami's head, each more X-rated than the last. She saw Makoto's eyes flicker over to the poles, which meant her mind was probably in a nearby gutter.

"Well, we better go check it out." Makoto sighed as she headed over to where Setsuna was standing with a woman in black who was apparently the owner. Ami trailed behind as Minako fetched Usagi and Rei.

Once all the senshi were gathered, they were all led behind the bar and through a draped doorway into a backroom. With so many of them, it was a bit of a tight fit, but all eventually managed to huddle around a TV hanging on a wall over a desk. Ami maneuvered herself so that she wasn't next to Makoto, but instead standing where she could watch her face while the video played. She had a feeling that whatever they were about to see would surprise all of them, and she wanted to see Makoto's reaction first. The owner dug around in the desk's drawer and pulled out a DVD, then slide it into a player on the desk. The video began to play as the employee began talking to the group, pausing so that Minako could translate.

"Alrighty, so what it looks like is that last night they allowed people to compete in pairs or groups. After the teams go, the teams are judged based on amount of applause from the audience. Apparently, four of us competed: Setsuna and I were on one team while Ami and Makoto on the other. This is probably where the bet came in, and, as you can probably tell—" she ran her hand through her cropped hair, "-Ami and Makoto won."

The first few moments of the video were just the bar's logo, but then the central stage came into view. The stage was surrounded by a crowd and from what Ami could tell, the bar was packed. The video was close enough to the stage so that Ami could see those standing near the stage, and it looked as it was only women. A woman in a suit walked onto the stage and began addressing the crowd.

"She's announcing the competition and asking for volunteers—she's explaining that the winning team gets a sizable bar tab. Anddd here is where we enter."

The senshi watched as Minako, who still had long hair, jump onto the stage and then pull Setsuna up after her. Minako yelled something inaudible into the crowd and then pointed back down at Makoto and Ami, who were pushed up onto the stage by Usagi and Rei. Ami frowned as she noticed that Haruka and Michiru weren't anywhere to be seen. After their appearance at the convention, she was sure they would be the center of attention at a place like this.

"You guys have the costumes on!" Usagi pointed at the TV and squealed. "You look sooo naughty!"

Makoto blushed, as did Ami. It was hard for her not to think about Makoto in that outfit. She silently wondered whether Makoto had kept it.

"The competition is starting—looks like Setsuna and I went first." Minako said as they watched Ami and Makoto walk away to the side of the stage, holding hands. She glanced over at Makoto and she noticed was still blushing.

There were two poles on the stage, and Minako and Setsuna both walked over and stopped at the first one they came to. A very catchy and fast paced rap song began to play and Minako immediately began to dance, grabbing onto ones of the poles and girating her hips wildly. The normally reserved Setsuna stepped up and began doing the same thing, the two senshi essentially dancing on top each other. The dance only became raunchier as the pair started to feel each other up. Minako began slowly undoing Setsuna's top, the crowd cheering louder and louder with each proceeding button. The present Setsuna looked absolutely mortified, and even Minako looked a little abashed. It struck Ami with some horror that if they had been this risqué, then her and Makoto must have done something even racier in order to win.

By the time the song ended, both senshi were missing their tops. They had managed to keep their bras on, but it was clear that Minako had been trying to solve that only moments before the music stopped. The woman in the suit reintroduced them to the crowd and the pair took a bow, then literally skipped to the side of the stage where Makoto and Ami were standing. Even though their performance was over, Setsuna and Minako continuously hung on each other, often running a hand through the others hair, or once or twice, in much more private areas. Ami couldn't help but blush for the pair, who currently looked like they were in a state of shock, especially Setsuna.

Ami could count on Usagi to cut the tension. "I wonder what Ami and Makoto did to top THAT."


	16. Chapter 16

Usagi and the rest of the senshi didn't have to wonder for long. Makoto watched as she and Ami walked to center stage and stopped between the two poles. For a moment, they were still, simply holding hands in the center of the stage. Makoto's heart was in her throat, and she thought she was going to throw the organ up at any moment.

And then the music started. Even though she didn't recognize the song, Makoto was thankful it was alternate rock instead of rap. All of her relief vanished as she listened and realized that the song had the most seductive tempo she had ever heard. Makoto tore her attention away from the stage for a moment as she noticed Rei and Usagi's figures by the stage. It seemed like even they were caught up in the excitement as the pair were standing super close, their faces less than a hand's width apartment.

Motion on the stage caught her eye and she looked back over to see her and Ami separating on the stage and making their way towards opposite poles. When they started dancing on the poles, Makoto couldn't believe how thankful she was that they weren't dancing together. She watched Ami slowly sway from side to side, only moving slightly. She was in that costume suit, the jacket suiting her strangely well and her white top slightly unbuttoned which revealed her collarbone and occasionally a navy bra. Her head was thrown back, her eyes closed, seemingly lost in the moment, and was probably the most unbelievable sexy sight Makoto had ever seen. Makoto's mouth dropped opened slightly in awe, her focus completely on Ami, who continued to move seductively back and forth.

Ami had completely distracted her from her own figure on the screen, but suddenly, she saw herself come into view behind her. She watched herself grab the water senshi by the waist and pull her lower half close to her. Ami responded instantly, turning around and grabbing Makoto's arms, yanking the taller girl in front of her. She saw herself grab the silver pole and bend over, beginning to girate her behind on Ami's crotch. Ami's hands were now on Makoto's hips, controlling them and moving them back and forth. Makoto heard the audience cheer louder with the occasionally shrill whistle of approval. Despite being the opposition, Setsuna and Minako cheered wildly from the side.

Makoto thought it couldn't get any worse. As if the video was synced to her thoughts, she watched as Ami began spanking her in-time to the song's beat, her school girl skirt threatening to flip up with each succeeding _thwack_ of Ami's palm against her backside. Setsuna and Minako hadn't incorporated this particular move in their routine, and the crowd evidently approved as their cheers grew into a roar.

It struck Makoto that this was the longest song ever recorded because it continued on. She watched herself slowly shimmy to a standing position and then turn to face Ami. The two were now dancing face to face, and Makoto began to help Ami remove her jacket. Once it was off, Ami tossed it to the side of the stage where Setsuna and Minako were standing, who promptly snatched it up. Makoto saw Ami's image turn back to her own on the screen, and then watched in horror as she slowly began to unbutton Ami's top. Ami's navy bra was soon completely visible and moments later, the white top joined the jacket on the side of the stage.

Now Makoto was sure it couldn't get any worse. The crowd was now cheering much louder than they had for Minako or Setsuna, and the song _had_ to be close to its end. Once again, she was wrong. She saw herself begin to shimmy down Ami's body, her hands tracing their way over the smaller girl's breasts and stomach. Her view was briefly blocked, but it quickly became apparent that she had unzipped Ami's pants and had pulled something out. Her mouth went dry as she realized that the mystery strap-on (which was revealed to be bright pink) had finally made its appearance, and that she was about to…

She wrenched her eyes away from the screen and looked across at Ami, who was clearly in shock with her hands cusped and covering her mouth. The water senshi was naturally pale, but at this moment, she looked like a ghost. Makoto's seemed to move on its own as she turned and ran out the room.


	17. Chapter 17

Ami's eyes had been completely glued to the screen, the outside world vanishing. She felt like what she was watching was only halfway registering in her brain—this _couldn't_ be actually happening. She and Makoto couldn't be… doing those things. She was simultaneously upset that she and Makoto were doing such inappropriate things, and enraged at her own memory that she couldn't remember. She only became distracted from the scene when out of the corner of her eye she saw Makoto run from the room. Ami turned just in time to see her brunette ponytail fly out the door.

"She okay?" Minako turned and met Ami's eyes. "I mean… this is some pretty intense stuff. You wanna go check on her?" Ami nodded in reply, secretly glad to be distracted from events on the screen, which sounded like they were continuing, and by the sound of the audience, only escalating.

After exiting the office, she couldn't find Makoto right away and momentarily panicked at the thought that she might have left the bar. Her panic mostly subsided when she spied her the brunette's ponytail over a partition on the other side of the bar; she made her way across the labyrinth of tables and couches that were placed all around the stage.

"Mako-chan…"

The thunder senshi's back had been to the partition, but at the sound of her voice, she turned to face Ami. She noticed that Mako-chan's eyes were red; if she hadn't been crying, she looked as if she was about to begin.

"That was… surprising."

Makoto let out a choked laugh. "Yeah, it sure was." She looked down at her feet as if they suddenly became the most interesting things in the room. "So… Where does that leave us? Where do we go from here?"

Ami hadn't expected Makoto to be so blunt, but in a way was relieved. Now, she didn't have to ask the questions, just answer.

"I don't know." She answered, honestly. She had only earlier confessed to Makoto that she was attracted to women. Granted, she left out the part where Makoto was the particular woman for whom she had a burning hot and unchaste desire and that she had been crazy about her years. But even without that small detail, she could imagine that it was still a lot for Makoto to digest. "What are you thinking?" She simultaneously wanted to know and didn't. Waiting for a response, she found herself holding her breath.

The response was brief. "Honestly, I don't even know."

Ami wasn't encouraged, but slowly built her courage up again and pressed on. "I understand… And, I don't know what happens next either, but…." She slowly reached out and put her hand on Makoto's shoulder. "I'm… I'm always here for you. I don't know how you feel about what I said back at the parlor, but no matter what, I'll be here." She kept her hand on Makoto's shoulder until Makoto looked back at her; even though it took everything in her, she didn't look away, but kept looking into Makoto's eyes.

For a moment, everything was absolute stillness. Neither Makoto nor Ami moved—Ami wasn't even sure she was breathing. She didn't know if it was because Makoto was the senshi of thunder or because of something else, but something about just touching her was absolutely electrifying.

Time started again when Makoto reached up and grabbed Ami's hand, removing it from her shoulder. A lump appeared in Ami's throat when she thought Mako was about to let go. It faded away when Makoto didn't let go, but only gripped her hand tighter. Makoto inhaled deeply as if she was about to dive under water.

"Ami, what you said back there… At the tattoo shop… It really took me off guard." The lump immediately reappeared in Ami's throat. "I mean, I was really surprised." Ami felt her hand being squeezed tightly, and she noticed that her hands were as cold and clammy as her own. Makoto continued, her voice shaking. "In a re-really wonderful and scary way. Like, I was so happy, and so terrified. At the same time."

"Why?" Ami nearly whispered.

Makoto hesitated, but then replied, voice shaking, "Because… I thought… that maybe there was a chance… for us."

"What does that mean, Mako-chan?" Ami whispered. Makoto stepped closer to her and Ami was sure that eyes had grown to the size of dinner plates. She was so close to Ami now that they were only inches apart.

"It means…" Makoto took another deep breath and reached forward with her other hand, cupping Ami's cheek gently, her thumb softly tracing her cheekbone. "That back at the parlor, I wasn't acting either. I've wanted to hold you like that for a really, really long time. And those things on the camera..." She trailed off. "Well, I've looked on at Haruka and Michiru's relationship, and wanted something like that so bad. Hell, I've even been jealous of Minako because she was so honest about herself. But despite all of that wanting, I was just afraid that you wou—"

Ami cut Mako off by closing the gap between them and quickly sealing Mako's lips closed with her own. After years of fantasizing and dreaming, she was making the first move. It wasn't like her, but then again, she _really_ hadn't been herself lately.


	18. Chapter 18

Butterflies had appeared in Makoto's belly when Ami put her hand on her shoulder . But when Ami suddenly leaned in and Makoto felt their lips meet, it stole away her breath and all the butterflies with it. Everything was still, so wonderfully still, even her thoughts. Once her brain began processing again, sheer happiness suddenly overwhelmed her like a sublime tidal wave and Makoto could only close her eyes in order to drink it all in.

Years, or maybe only moments, later, she felt their lips separating. She slowly opened her eyes and immediately found herself once again looking into Ami's. She noticed Ami's cheeks were red and she seemed to be out of breath—but then again, so was she.

"Makoto…" Ami whispered. "More than anything, I want this. I want us." She smiled softly and reached up and stroked Makoto's hair. "I've wanted to tell you for a long time, but I was scared too. But I don't think we have to be afraid anymore."

Makoto nodded and she couldn't stop the big smile slowing spreading across her face. "As usual Ami-chan, you're absolutely right." She pulled Ami into another embrace, wrapping her arms around her. "I'm ready for us too." She felt Ami snuggle into her shoulder and nod her head.

"Oh, I just fucking knew it!"

Minako's voice cracked like a whip, breaking Ami and Makoto apart. She and Makoto looked up to see Minako and the others looking at them, Minako's was over-exaggeratingly pointing at them and Usagi's jaw was nearly on the floor.

"I knew I knew it! I fucking LOVE being right!" Minako howled as she did what looked like a celebration dance. Makoto groaned—she knew what this meant.

"Yeah… I guess you were right." She swept her arm around Ami's shoulder and pulled her close to her side. "You now have total rights to a life time of 'I-told-you-sos'."

"Damn right I do!" Minako cried as she danced her way over to Ami and Makoto and threw her arms around them both. "It's official! We're all lesbians!"

Makoto noticed that Usagi and Rei only started to object—after seeing the two of them get close on that video, she had a rough idea of what Minako had on Rei. Setsuna didn't try to deny it at all. After everyone had watched her shenanigans with Minako, Setsuna probably knew she couldn't.

"Wait…" Makoto could tell the gears in Ami's heads were turning. "You knew about Makoto's feelings? And you knew about me?!" Ami looked at Makoto and then to Minako with wide eyes. "And NO ONE told me?!"

"Yeah, she's know about me for a while now." Makoto confessed. "She kept teasing me about you and telling me that you liked me, but I couldn't believe it…"

"Yeah, and if she _had_ listened, you guys would be married with kids by now." Minako pulled away, a smile plastered across her face. "I didn't want to tease you because you don't handle teasing very well. But, it all worked out! Better late than never!"

Usagi ran over and threw her arms around Makoto and Ami, and Minako was caught in the cross-fire. "I can't believe it but I'm soooo happy for you guys! This means I get to be in another wedding, so I'm calling maid of honor RIGHT NOW!"

No one could stop themselves from laughing, and soon, everyone was doubled over. Makoto was pretty sure she was crying, but whether it was from laughing at Usagi or the sheer happiness of the moment, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that she was surrounded by friends who stood by her no matter what, and that included the woman that she loved. She blessed the day Luna had given her a henshin wand and she met this group of women.

For once, Usagi interrupted to make a very good point, "Wait, we'll have to celebrate later because we still gotta find Haruka and Michiru."

And for once, everyone had to agree with Usagi. They quickly huddled around a nearby table to discuss their options.

"You guy's, uhh, performance, finished right after you ran out, so I asked the owner if she knew anything else, but she didn't." Minako informed Ami and Makoto.

"Coming here only gave us one clue then." Ami replied. The rest of the senshi looked at her excitedly.

"Haruka and Michiru were not here with us. We must have separated from them after we left the convention, but before we got here. Otherwise, we're out of clues."

The news wasn't welcome, although Makoto was going to be honest, it was impossible for her to be even slightly unhappy about anything after the revelation moments before.

"Someone has to know something. The end of the line simply cannot be at a strip club." Setsuna said, clearly frustrated. "Albeit, this one is at least clean."

"Should we start interrogating the strippers?" Minako replied as one entered, dressed in what looked like entirely fishnet, and took a seat at the bar. Minako whistled, her every thought instantly coming out her mouth as usual. "I mean, for science."

Makoto rolled her eyes—Minako wasn't even trying to hide her ulterior motives.

"Well, it couldn't hurt." Rei agreed, and Makoto wasn't sure if she should now suspect her of ulterior motives as well. Regardless, the rest of the scouts voiced their agreement and Ami volunteered to go talk to the stripper, who was now sipping a drink.

Cliché as it was, Makoto hated to see her go, but loved to watch her leave. She kept her eyes on her—friend? Girlfriend? Partner?—as she walked over the bar. Makoto wasn't sure what to call what they were now, but she looked forward to fleshing out the details later. She silently wondered if the bar would give her a copy of their performance together. She hoped it would be something they could one day watch together for a laugh, or perhaps for getting in the mood for something more serious…

"So Mako—" Minako's voice jerked her out of her daydream. "You can deny my nothing, so tell me the details. How was the first kiss? It looked pretty excellent from where we were standing." Minako made fake kissy sounds at Makoto.

Even though they had seen her do far, far naughtier with Ami, Makoto couldn't help but blush. "It… was better than I thought, which is pretty crazy. I thought it was gonna knock me off my feet, but it sent me straight into outer space. Is that enough info for now?"

"For now…" Minako wiggled her eyebrows. "Although I'm sure I'll get to ask you about her-"

Suddenly, there was nothing short of a ruckus at the bar. Makoto looked over to see Ami and the stripper exchanging some very loud words. Suddenly, right before her eyes, Ami reared back and punched the stripper square in the face.


	19. Chapter 19

"We gotta go!" Ami cried moments later as she ran away from the stripper, who was knocked out cold on the floor. Opening the door, she noticed no one was following her. She looked behind her to see the rest of the senshi still sitting at the table looking at her as if she just turned into a dinosaur.

"Didn't you hear me?! MOVE IT!" She yelled and pointed out the door. The rest of the senshi scrambled out of their chairs and made a beeline for the door.

"Why did you punch a stripper?!" Minako hollered as they all ran down the street away from the bar. "I mean, WHO punches a stripper!"

"I'll explain later!" Ami yelled back as she hightailed it down the street. After a couple of blocks, her lungs started to catch fire and she was forced to slow down. Her hands clenched, she leaned against a corner street lamp, trying to catch her breath. She almost felt ashamed—there was a time when she would have fought a monster until she collapsed, but now, running a mere few blocks was enough to completely tire out the water senshi.

"Ami… What- what was that?!" Makoto stumbled over to her, clearly a little winded as well. "What just happened?!"

"Yeah! I wanted to party there again!" Usagi cried as she stopped and held herself up on the same street lamp as Ami. "It was fun!"

"You don't even remember being there!" Rei gasped, clearly out of breath as well.

For a moment, Ami was at a loss for words. After all, how do you sound reasonable when explaining why you assaulted a stripper?

"I had to get these back for you." She replied, deciding that fewer words were probably better. She grabbed Makoto's hand and put the tiny objects that she had clenched in her fist into her palm and then closed her fingers over them. The rest of the scouts quickly gathered around to see what the fuss was about.

Makoto's hand opened to reveal a tiny pair of rose earrings. Rei and Setsuna gasped.

"But—you lost them!" Rei said. "Ami, how did you get them?

"Well…" Ami could feel herself blushing. "Apparently, she had gotten them off of Makoto somehow last night, and it became very clear that she wasn't going to give them back to me…." She looked down at her feet "… and she called my girlfriend a whore." She looked up at Makoto to see the effect of the new title.

Makoto quickly put her earrings on without saying a word. Then, without warning, she grabbed Ami and pulled her into the most intense and smoldering kiss that Ami had ever experienced. When they separated, she almost felt light-headed from lack of air. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the others shaking their heads and laughing.

"I can tell that you two are gonna be just as bad as Haruka and Michiru." Rei teased.

"Can ya blame me? My girlfriend is pretty awesome." Makoto replied and smiled at Ami. She reached up and touched her earring. "She's probably the only one who would punch a stripper for me, over jewelry no less."

"She slapped me once over you too!" Usagi enthusiastically volunteered. "She can pack a wallop!"

"I agree about Ami's, uhh, punching prowess, but we still need to find Michiru and Haruka." Setsuna said as she began to walk away from the group. "I believe the hotel is back this way. We should regroup there and see if Michiru and Haruka have made any kind of contact."

Makoto nodded, and she, Minako and Rei began to follow after Setsuna.

 _Screechhh!_

Out of nowhere, a black van screeched to a halt on the street next to where Usagi and Ami were standing. The backdoor flew open and before Ami knew it, she and Usagi were grabbed by men in black robes and hauled into the back of the van. She heard a man's voice yelling something in English, but she was too distracted by the struggle to understand. Before she could get away, the back doors shut and the van jolted forward and down the street.


	20. Chapter 20

"AMI!" Makoto screamed helplessly as she watched the van drive away. Desperate to catch it, she ran after the van, and continued running long after it had rounded a corner and out of view. Eventually, she was forced to stop to breathe, her lungs and sides on fire.

"USAGI!" She hadn't noticed Rei until the fire senshi came running past her. She only made it few yards past Makoto and then stopped to support herself against a nearby building, wheezing and panting violently. Moments later, Minako and Setsuna caught up with them.

"Setsuna… Minako…" She said, still panting. "What—what—" She stopped to take a deep breath "- did they yell? I didn't understand."

She saw Setsuna and Minako look at each other.

"Well…" Setsuna began.

"… they said to meet them tonight. At 7:30pm. " Minako finished.

"Well, WHERE?! I have a girlfriend for like five seconds and she gets kidnapped—who the FUCK does that happen to?!" She yelled, and wanted to scream at the top of her lungs until her voice gave out. "I will FUCKING KILL THEM."

"Holy shit, calm down, Makoto." Minako stepped forward and patted her on the back.

"No, she's right…" Rei whispered. "We will fucking _kill_ them." Makoto turned to see Rei staring in the direction that the van had disappeared. Even though she was worked up, she couldn't help but get chills of fear from the look she saw in Rei's eyes.

"Both of you, stay calm." Setsuna said, trying to back Minako up. "We know where they are and when. They said to meet us at Lafayette Cemetery tonight at 7:30."

"Where the fuck is that?" Makoto asked, suddenly not caring very much about her language. She knew she was supposed to care about Usagi too, but if they had hurt one precious blue hair of Ami's, she would fry them so badly an autopsy would be inconclusive. Looking over at Rei, she had a feeling that she would do the same thing if something happened to Usagi's odangoed head.

"Let me look it up." Minako said quickly, pulling her smart phone out and swiping her finger across the screen. Makoto never thought she'd live to see the day where Minako would be the calm voice in the group. "… Here! Here it is!" The rest of the scouts huddled around Minako's phone.

"… It's a couple miles away." Setsuna said after looking at the map. "And it's seven, so they won't show for another thirty minutes or-."

"-Then we'll get there and wait." Rei interrupted. She walked over to the street and held her hand out. "We'll catch a cab—four of us should be able to fit."


	21. Chapter 21

The world was blackness to Ami. She had been blindfolded and restrained with her arms behind her, with what felt like ropes wrapped around her wrists. Her heart pounded in her ears and she could feel the blood rushing wildly through her veins. She was acutely aware that the van was traveling at high speeds, and each time it slowed or stopped, she felt her body try to fly forwards, but was stopped by a strap across her chest. Despite her struggling, someone had managed to get a seatbelt around her.

"Let go you creeps!" Usagi screamed in Japanese. She was so close to her ear that Ami could swear that she felt her eardrum shatter in her head. "Let us GOOOOOOOOO!"

"Silence, girl!" A man's voice commanded in English. "We do not wish violence, but your voice may incite us to it."

"He said to be quiet." Ami translated and Usagi fell silent. "Let me try to talk to them." Usagi's response was an affirmative in the form of a sniffle.

"What do you want?" She asked calmly in English. She was thankful that she could at least communicate—Usagi had barely scraped by in all her English classes, and it was unlikely she understood anything that was being said. Ami knew she would have to be the leader in this particular situation and figure out a plan. Being discreet as possible, she felt the rope's fibers out as much as she could with her fingers and, quickly finding the knot in the rope, began to work at loosening it. If she could get lose and act quickly enough, she could transform and freeze the men in the back of the van and then take care of the driver. It meant revealing her identity, but it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

"Do you pretend not to know?" The man replied, his voice incredulous. "You have taken someone from us, and he must be returned."

"We… kidnapped someone?" Ami had no idea what he was talking about. There had been no one else with her group earlier that morning, and Makoto didn't report having someone extra in their group either. "Who?"

"You are either a talented liar or an idiot." The man replied, the incredulity replaced by anger. "You kidnapped our great and powerful Lord Ladon, he who was to show us to the mystical garden of Hesperides and allow us chosen few to escape from this wretched world." As soon as he mentioned "Hesperides", Ami heard the other men (there were two—maybe three?) chant something in unison.

"Your… Lord?" It was worse than she thought: they had been kidnapped by cultists. "You must be mistaken- we know no one by that name, and even if we did, we don't remember. We were heavily drugged last night and woke up without any memory of last night." She felt the knot begin to give slight and began to work more quickly despite the soreness in her fingers.

"Lies." The man hissed. "You and your friends interrupted our ceremony, and in the blink of an eye somehow managed to disappear with Lord Ladon."

"Wait- I don't know if what you say is true or not." She admitted, but then the thought struck her, "We have people missing too—two women. They might be wherever Lord Ladon is."

"Perhaps..." was the only cryptic reply that she received. She felt the van slow to a stop –gently this time—and then heard the driver put the van in park and kill the engine.

"You can stop trying to untie your bonds now—we have arrived. We have told your friends to bring us our Lord in exchange for you two." The man said, and Ami heard the back of the van open. "Pray that they hold up their end of the deal."


	22. Chapter 22

The cemetery was a sprawling labyrinth. It was a landscape of death that seemed to curve in around them, the varying heights of the mausoleums severely impacting their visibility. Setsuna had pointed out that the cemetery was actually not too far away from the church—Makoto squinted into the sunset and thought she could see the top of the church's bell tower. They had worried that they wouldn't be in the right place at the right time, but a robed man had intercepted them as soon as they walked into the cemetery. He told them in English that he was sent to guide them to the meeting place. He led them deep into the maze of graves, taking turns seemingly at random. Finally, after twisting through the cemetery for several minutes, he stopped in the front of a modest sized mausoleum and tapped on the front. The front of the grave opened like a giant stone door, revealing a set of stairs trailing down, and the robed man stepped in, stopping only to gesture for the scouts to follow. Makoto's stomach flipped and made it clear to her that she was _not_ comfortable entering a grave.

"He wants us to go in _there_? _Fuck_ that." Minako said, voicing everyone's doubts. The man said something in an urgent tone to the group, causing Minako to sigh. "Yep, he definitely us to go in there, and it looks like we don't have a choice."

Makoto took a breath, clenching her fists, and then stepped into the grave, the rest of the senshi following her. She had fixed an image of Ami firmly in her mind's eye and swore that when she married Ami—which she also swore to do—that they would never go to such a crazy city for their wedding.

The stairs were steep, but thankfully, not many. They soon came to a dim room lit by torches and found three additional men in robes waiting. The entire room was made of the same grey marble as the outside, but unlike the outside, was decorated with intricate carvings on the floor and walls. She had to admire the room until she realized with a shudder that there was a tomb. It sat to the left of the stairs and was clearly meant to be the aesthetic focus of the room. The tomb itself was a large rectangular block sealed with a slab that looked too heavy too hope to move. She was too far away to see the details, but she could tell that the carvings also covered the tomb. On each side stood immense marble statues of what looked like giant lizard monsters. At this point, Makoto's mental picture of Ami was all that was keeping her in this increasingly terrifying place.

"Ami!" Makoto couldn't stop herself from calling out when the other party arrived through the same entrance a few minutes later. It took every fiber of Makoto's being to hold herself back from rushing the men who arrived with Ami and Usagi. The pair had been blindfolded and had their hands bound, and the sight made Makoto see red. She glanced over at Rei, who looked as if she was about to burn the entire cemetery down. Makoto knew that she could do it too.

"We're okay, Makoto. They haven't hurt us." Ami replied.

"I don't think we'll return the favor." Rei growled. Even though there were seven men and only six of them, Makoto could tell that Rei had done the math and found it more than unfair for the other side.

One of the hooded men stepped forward and removed both Ami and Usagi's blindfolds, whose shocked expressions revealed that they were both clearly not expecting to be in a grave.

"Where the hell are we?!" Usagi squeaked.

"We're in a graveyard. It's near the church." Setsuna explained. The answer didn't calm Usagi and her large blue eyes stayed glued to the ominous statues in the corner

One of the men said something to Ami that Makoto didn't catch. Ami nodded and was pushed forward by one of the men.

"Ami… What do they want?" Makoto asked.

"Makoto- we have to be careful. They're cultists." Ami said.

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock." Minako snorted. "What gave it away? The robes or the creepy ass headquarters?"

Setsuna gently shushed Minako, and Ami continued, "As I was saying—they're cultists. They believe that we've kidnapped their leader or lord—his name is Ladon. I've tried explaining that we were… well, indisposed last night, but they won't listen."

"But we didn't have a man with us this morning!" Minako cried. "You guys woke up in the bar, and we woke up in that hotel room."

"I know, Minako, but…" Ami started, but didn't complete the sentence and Makoto could tell that she had been struck by some idea. Ami looked over at the giant statues and seemed to inspect them from afar. After a moment, she turned to the man in a robe and asked something in English. She listened carefully to the reply and Makoto could tell that Ami was a shade paler by the time he was finished.

She turned back to the senshi. "Minako, I'm assuming you didn't forget what we found in the hotel room."

"Well, yeah, in addition to Usagi's naked ass, we also found that harness, and the frozen alligator in the bath—" She stopped short, glanced over at the statues, and then groaned. "Don't fucking tell me—it's the gator, isn't it? They worship a fucking alligator. "

Ami nodded. "Gang, I think we just solved another mystery."


	23. Chapter 23

"Guys, what are we gonna do? Do you think that thing is still back at the hotel?" Usagi asked, who along with Ami, still had her hands tied behind her back. She wiggled against the ropes impatiently and threw a dirty look at nearby cultist. "I mean, these jerks want their pet back—they didn't say how."

"That's unlikely, Usagi." Setsuna sighed. "It was at a hotel, remember? Either room service found it or the unfortunate guest who stepped in there next did."

"But we won't know unless we checkkk…" Usagi replied, a bit of a whine creeping into her voice. "And it's the only way these creeps will let us go."

"We could always just transform and knock these guys out. Heck, I bet we wouldn't even need to transform." Rei said, and her black eyes seemed to sparkle with a mixture of rage and excitement at the thought. Ami didn't doubt that Rei would roast all the men without any hesitation.

"We need to give them what they want, or at least attempt to." Ami finally decided. "Otherwise, they'll just hunt us the entire time we in the city."

Minako nodded in agreement. "I second that motion. Plus, I want to get out of here ASAP. It's creepy as fuckkk."

"Tell them, Ami." Usagi urged from beside her.

Ami nodded, and then turned to the men. "It's clear we don't have him now, but we think we know where he is. If we take you to him and try to help you, will you let us go and leave us alone?"

After a few minutes of discussing among themselves, one of the robed men came forward. "We agree." Ami recognized his voice as the one she had spoken to in the van. "But if this is a ruse, do not count on our kindness."

Ami nodded. "Agreed—we will do our best to set things right. Also," she knew the question would sound odd, but it was awkward enough. "What is your name? If I need to get your attention, I can't just say 'hey you'. There's too many of you."

"Errr…" The question had caught him off guard. "It's, ummm… Well, just call me Rick."

"Okay, Rick." The name sounded strange in her mouth. "We should get going. I'll direct you to the location once we get to the van."

"Good. Tell your friends to wait until we've left and then follow."

She quickly relayed the information to the other scouts. Three men stepped forward and began to escort her and Usagi up the stairs.

"We'll meet you at the hotel, Ami. I'm not letting you go again!" Makoto's clearly worried voice called after them, and despite the rather unromantic situation, Ami's heart fluttered.

She was grateful that the men decided to not blindfold them again, as it made navigating the cemetery much easier. In a few minutes, they were at the van which had been parked on the outskirts of the cemetery. Despite the popularity of graveyard tours, the area was fairly empty aside from a few people wandering around. If anyone took note of a group of robed men escorting two bound Japanese women, there was no indication or fuss, and Ami had to wonder what kind of insanity the city witnessed on a regular basis.

They loaded Ami and Usagi into the van and were both buckled in— the men were fairly safety conscious considering, well, they were cultists that worshipped a reptile and had kidnapped them—and then three men climbed into the back while one went to the front to drive. Luckily, she remembered the name of the seemingly random hotel they had ended up earlier that morning and according to the men, it wasn't too far away.

The ride to the hotel was much less rushed than the ride to the cemetery. It amused Ami that the men became excited over finding fairly cheap metered parking next to the hotel, but it seemed like good parking was a blessing in any country or city. The humor was clearly lost in translation when she told Usagi, who was still not amused at any part of the situation.

"Now, where is he?" Rick hissed as soon as everyone had unloaded from the van. The parking spot was located around the side of the building in a small side-street which kept them mostly hidden from the busy traffic in front of the hotel. "Time is of the essence!"

"Unless he's been moved since this morning, he should be inside." Ami replied. "I don't remember the room number, but I'm pretty sure we could lead you there. But that means that you have to untie us." She nodded towards Usagi and wiggled against her own restraints to make a point.

Rick was silent for a moment, and then motioned to another man, who quickly stepped forward and untied both the senshi. Usagi began to rub her wrists and fuss over the marks as if she had been tied in barb wire instead of rope.

"If you make a scene or attract attention, this will end badly." Rick threatened. Usagi, despite not understanding his English, clearly understood the tone and responded with a middle finger.

"Us, attract attention?" Ami pointed to his black outfit. "We're not the ones in black robes."

He shrugged. "We're in New Orleans. People have seen stranger, trust me."


	24. Chapter 24

Makoto was nearly frantic by the time she saw Ami, Usagi, and the gaggle of cultists in black making their way through the lobby of the hotel. She noticed that the hotel guests didn't make too much of a fuss over the sudden appearance of the robed men; beyond a few pointed fingers and some arched eyebrows, it seemed to not merit any questions.

"Ami, are you okay?" She asked as the two groups convened. She noticed that both Ami and Usagi were untied. "They haven't hurt you? Do they have weapons?"

Ami shook her head. "No, not that I know of. They seem pretty willing to work with us."

"For now, at least." Minako said. "We don't know how willing they will be when they see their prehistoric popsicle upstairs." She gestured over at Rei. "And if this one doesn't get Usagi back soon, New Orleans might burn again."

Makoto felt as if she should be impressed by that reference, but she wasn't sure. Rei let Minako's comment slide without a word, which was probably a testament to the sheer degree of pissed she was.

"We don't know, but we have to try. If they get angry, we'll just wing it." Ami replied. "They untied both of us so if the situation gets out of hand, we could transform."

One of the men was clearly growing impatient and growled something at Ami.

"Well, they're getting feisty. Let's get going." Ami said briskly and then led the senshi and men towards a set of elevators. "Minako, Usagi, I think we were on the fifth floor—does that sound right?"

"Beats me, Ami." Usagi shrugged. "I remember waking up naked, and then it kinda gets fuzzy again until we got back to the other hotel." Makoto was now slightly happy she just ended up in a bar rather than the hotel. She didn't know what she would have done if she woke up naked, or in a hotel room with a frozen alligator in the bathroom.

"Ami, I'd bet on your memory." Minako said and hit the Up button by the elevator when they reached it. "With the exception of last night, anyway." Thankfully, the elevator came quickly. Less thankfully, it wasn't very large, forcing the senshi and the cultists to cram in together. Makoto doubted at first it would even fit them all, but somehow, all six senshi and four cultist fit. She vaguely remembered her high school physics class and she was that a law of space had somehow been violated.

"This trip has really changed you, Ami." Setsuna smiled softly despite the obvious tension in the overly stuffed ascending elevator. "It's very unlike you to just 'wing it'. Hopefully everything will turn out okay."

"It's already more than okay, Setsuna." Makoto heard Ami as the elevator reached their floor. "I got a girlfriend out of this trip, so whatever else happens, trust me, I'm okay." Despite the situation and being surrounded by cultists, Makoto could feel herself beaming.

Thankfully, the ride was fairly short. They exited the sardine can into the hallway and Ami led them down the hallway, occasionally hesitating at a door, but finally stopping at a door at the end of the hall.

"I'm… I'm pretty sure this is it." She told the scouts. She jiggled the handle. "But it's locked—I don't know how we'll get in." She looked over to one of the cultists and said something in English. He motioned for her to move aside and said something in English to the largest of the robed men, who promptly stepped forward and in one smooth motion, kicked down the door.

"Well, that problem's solved." Ami said as she pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Let me check first." She repeated the command in English and the men nodded in compliance. She quickly disappeared into the hotel room and after a moment or two, Makoto heard Ami let out a loud squeak. The blue haired senshi soon reappeared, a slight look of panic on her face.

"It seems that it is still there."

"Well, that's a little more ladylike than this morning." Minako said. "Makoto, your girlfriend has the potential for a potty mouth—she was dropping every curse word in the book this morning. I'm sure she could be a great dirty-"

"Not now, Minako." Despite wanting to hear how dirty Ami could be, Makoto had to cut in. "So it's here. We hand it over, they let us go and stop stalking us. Done."

"That would be optimal…" Ami glanced over at the men and then back at the senshi. "But it's still mostly frozen, and it _has_ to be dead. They might not take too kindly to that."

"Well, you said we'd wing it." Rei replied. "If they get violent, we can always take action, which we _should_ have done before this."

"Guys," Makoto said, looking over at Ami, their eyes meeting, "We've been in worse pickles. If we can save the world and die trying multiple times, we can figure this out."

Ami nodded, then walked back into the hotel room, holding the door open for the rest of the group to follow her into the room. Noting the spaciousness of the rooms, Makoto wished they had stayed at this joint, although this particular unit had been trashed beyond belief. Clearly, room service never made it. There was a couch that had been folded out into a bed, and whatever sheets may have been on it where flung everywhere, and opened bags of chips and fast food containers littered the kitchenette at the other end. When they entered the adjoining room, it was as if all the pillows had been slashed open and the contents emptied into the room. While waking up in a bar had been uncomfortable, Makoto though that it wasn't nearly as confusing as waking up in this craziness, especially after the discovery of the strap on, the phallic part of which was still missing.

Ami walked over to another door, said something briefly to the men, and then threw the door open.


	25. Chapter 25

"OUR LORD!"

"SAVIOR!"

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Ami could identify with the last of the three outbursts—it had roughly been her reaction that very morning.

"What have you done?!" Rick looked at her, eyes flashing with anger, "He's… dead!"

"I can explain." Ami sputtered, although it occurred to her that they actually couldn't.

"No excuses, bitch! Do you realize what you've done?!" He lunged at Ami, his hands seeking her throat. Out of the corner of her eye, Ami saw Rei reach into her pocket and then throw something at the ceiling. Ami saw it was an ofuda scroll, which exploded into a flames as soon as it hit a sprinkler, setting off all the sprinklers in the room and causing the fire alarm to blare, throwing the room into utter chaos. Ami took advantage of the distraction and quickly moved away from Rick. She reached for her henshin wand, but the ideas struck her that the room was too small to transform and use any of their attacks effectively.

"Don't transform!" She yelled as she saw Makoto pull out her wand as well. "The room's too small—you'll electrocute us all!" The sprinkler system was clearly top of the line, as everyone was already thoroughly soaked—one of Makoto's attacks, even if carefully aimed, would travel throughout the whole room.

Makoto nodded and put the wand away. "We don't need them anyways!" Makoto replied, and if the men understood Japanese, they would have known it was a taunt. One of the robed men leapt at her, but Makoto used his force against him and flipped him onto his back before following through with a punch that left his nose bleeding.

The room was the smallest battleground the senshi had ever encountered. Some of the conflict had spilled out into the main room where people were trying to get space. The sprinkler system finally shut off, but the alarm continued to blare in the room and out into the hallway. Ami knew it wouldn't be long before hotel staff found them, and it was an encounter she wanted to avoid. They would need to make quick work of the men and leave before anyone started asking questions.

Even without transforming, the senshi were doing just fine. One cultist was facing off against Setsuna in the bedroom, but Minako, who wasn't afraid to fight dirty, snuck up behind him and nailed him with a small bedside lamp. Near them, Makoto was wrestling with the man she had earlier thrown to the floor, but was now using the robe to her advantage by pulling it over his face while she kneed him in the stomach. In the first room, the third had the misfortune of grabbing one of Usagi's odangos and was promptly attacked by Rei who wallpapered him with scrolls.

"Thanks, Rei." Usagi sniffled and kicked at the man, now lying on the floor, most of his robe and clothes burnt to a crisp.

"I used up all my scrolls, but I guess you're worth it." Rei teased before joining Makoto's on-going brawl. Ami was momentarily distracted by the thought that Rei and Usagi would make a really cute couple.

"You'll pay!" A voice from behind her interrupted her brief thoughts on match making. She whirled around to see Rick, who was shaking in anger and had been given a bloody lip by someone. He began to walk towards her, and Ami walked backwards in turn. With everyone else distracted, she looked frantically around the room for some kind of weapon. Before she could find anything, he leapt at her and hit her with his full weight, and she felt the air in her lungs leave her as she collided with the floor.

This scrap ranked up in her top five battles in terms of desperation and took the top spot when it came to animal instinct. She clawed and hit any part of him that she came into contact with, even going so far as to pull his right ear until he yelped. They rolled and scraped until Ami felt the back of her head collide with the hard metal of the pull out bed she had awoken in earlier that day. She briefly saw stars and her body briefly went limp from the blow. That brief moment was all her opponent needed and she felt both his hands close around her neck.

It sent her into panic mode and she began thrashing violently while trying to pull a finger away from her neck, although his tight grip made it nearly impossible. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something under the bed, but within reach. While still trying to pull his hands away with one hand, she frantically grabbed the object, and very quickly noting its weight and size, pulled it out and hit his face with it as hard as she could.

As hard as she could was pretty damn hard and the blow forced his hands off of her throat in order to protect his face. She smacked him again, knocking him off to the side, making room for her to leap up. The adrenaline rushed through her veins like a high octane drug as she landed another blow, which knocked him out cold.

She stood over him, still gripping her weapon tightly, her adrenaline slowly tapering off with every gasping breath. It was as if her lungs were on fire and all the muscles in her body were screaming. She made her way to the edge of the bed and sat, still watching Rick out of the corner of her eye.

"Ami!" She looked up to see Makoto dashing toward her with the rest of the senshi on her heels. "Talk to me—please say you're okay!"

"I'm… fine." Ami said slowly as she stood up and staggered towards Makoto. The taller girl caught her and looped Ami's arm over her shoulder, helping her stand. "Seriously, just… tired. Jesus, how did we ever fight for so long as scouts?"

"Transforming gives us abilities as well as stamina." Setsuna replied. "Without it, we're more or less just human. Although I must say your girlfriend is quite the fighter even without powers."

Ami thought she spied a bit of a blush appeared in Makoto's cheeks. "Well, clearly not good enough since I left my girlfriend here to fend for herself." Ami felt Makoto squeeze the hand she held as she looked over at her. "I'm sorry—we all were distracted in the other room."

Ami shook her head. "Please, don't worry. Clearly, I can handle myself." She gestured over at the still knocked-out Rick to make her point.

"Umm… Ami…" Usagi interjected, her voice nervous and curious at the same time, "What's that in your hand? Is that what you, uhh, got him with?"

Ami looked over at her other hand and for the first time noticed that she had used a rather hefty pink dildo to clobber the shit out of her opponent.

"Well, I'll be." Minako let out a whistle. "That's where that ended up—I'm surprised we didn't find it this morning!"

Ami could feel her face turn bright red and hot. She flung the phallus away from her, so hard that it bounced off the nearest wall. She looked up at Mako and saw that the thunder senshi's face was an identical shade of scarlet. Ami couldn't believe that in the space of 24 hours, she had gone from performing a sex act on stage with that thing to beating a man unconscious with it.

"Umm, well, looks like that's another mystery solved." She muttered, then turned to address the rest of the scouts, still hanging onto Makoto. "We need to leave. The people working at the hotel will probably arrive any minute."

The rests of the scouts nodded and filed out of the hotel room, leaving behind them four unconscious cultists and a bright pink dildo.


	26. Chapter 26

The senshi hauled ass away from the hotel, eager to regroup and discuss their next plan of action. Dusk was upon them and they had wasted a couple of hours in the company of cultists who had led them no closer to Haruka and Michiru than they had previously been. Setsuna, phone out and map pulled up, led them back to their hotel, which luckily was close by. As they made their way down the street, Makoto mentally kicked herself over the whole situation. If they had taken action earlier, Ami might not have gotten hurt. She had been so preoccupied that she hadn't even noticed when her girlfriend was fighting for her life. The rest of the group was fine, and while Makoto had sustained a few scrapes and bruises, Ami was the worst off by a mile. The smaller girl still had her arm around Makoto's shoulder and while she could mostly walk on her own, occasionally had to lean on her for support. Makoto kept insisting that they stop at a hospital, but Ami staunchly refused, claiming it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

"If she's too stubborn to go to the hospital, we need to get her up to the room so she can rest. We'll figure out what to do there." Minako ordered, taking charge of the situation as they entered the hotel lobby. It was a command that not even Ami could argue against; they were all tired, hungry, and their clothes had been thoroughly soaked by the sprinklers. The rest of the group agreed and made their way up to their rooms.

"I'm okay, Makoto. I can walk." Ami told the thunder senshi as they opened the room to their hotel room. Makoto shook her head in response and on a whim, swooped her free arm under Ami and whisked her off her feet. She walked over the threshold and walked over to the bed and gently deposited Ami on the covers. As she pulled away, she noticed that Ami's face was bright red.

"I ummm… Always hoped to do that. In better circumstances, of course…" Makoto said nervously. She stood back from the bed and ran her hands through her still-wet hair. "Sorry…"

"It's okay, Mako-chan." Ami whispered and pulled herself up on the bed so she was sitting upright. "We'll just have to do it again another time." She looked up and smiled softly at Makoto, who felt her heart dance inside her chest.

"Hey lovebirds, might want to shut the door." Makoto heard Minako call from behind her, followed by the sound of a door shutting.

"She's never going to let you live this down, is she?"

"Nope, never."

Silence settled over the room and Makoto realized that this was the first time that the pair had been alone since the strip club. She suddenly became unaccountably nervous and began to dig through her suitcase for dry clothes to give herself something to do. She pulled out a random pair of pants and a clean top, and after reflecting on how thoroughly soaked she actually was, quickly fished out underwear, bra and socks as well.

"I'm gonna go change real quick." She mumbled as she walked to the bathroom, clothes in hand.

She shut the door behind her and after placing her dry clothes on the counter, began to strip, the air cool on her slightly damp skin. She grabbed a towel began to dry herself off, contemplating her current situation. Where would she and Ami even go from here? They were dating, or at least she thought they were—they had both called each other "girlfriend" even though absolutely no conversation had taken place about it. Would they go out on dates? How would those sleep-overs now go? Her body dry, she pulled her hair down from its signature ponytail and began to dry it, the occasionally strand getting caught on her earrings, which left her wincing.

Where would they even start off? After all, they had basically jumped from sitting in the dug-out to second base-ish and potentially further within 24 hours, the "potentially further" bit still causing Makoto no small amount of distress. She shook the thoughts out of her head and quickly dressed in the dry clothes, leaving the wet ones on the floor to deal with later. Haruka and Michiru were still the priority.

"Ami, you can change if you wa-" She opened the door and was cut off by the sight of a half-dressed Ami standing next to her suitcase near the bathroom door, who was out of her wet clothes and only a bra and underwear set into her dry ones. "Uhhh- sorry, I'll go back-"

She tried to close the door, she felt it being yanked open from the other side. She let go in surprise and the door swung open and Ami's scantily-clad form came back into view.

"No, Mako. You don't have to do that." Ami said breathlessly. She reached forward, grabbing Makoto's hand, and then led her out into the room. Makoto felt like she should be concentrating on the area above Ami's neck, but was distracted by everything below. She had seen Ami in various stages of undress over the years, courtesy of their many sleep-overs and numerous henshin transformations, but never this close. She knew Ami was pale, but now she could see her skin had the same smooth paleness as porcelain. Her whiteness made her navy underwear and bra stood out like deep ink on a pristine page. At first, Makoto was struck with how delicate Ami seemed with her tiny features and limbs that looked like they belonged on some fairy. Makoto spied bruises blossoming down Ami's side, and quickly remembered that while Ami looked like breakable porcelain, she was made of steel.

She finally broke her eyes away from Ami and turned her head away from the other girl.

"Mako-chan…" Ami's small hand cupped her cheek and turned her head back to her, forcing their eyes to meet. "It's okay—you can look all you want. We can do whatever we want now. No more hiding."

She stood up on her tip toes and leaned forward. Her lips came just short of Makoto's, but the tips of their noses brushed against each other's with the lightness of a feather. Ami reached up and slide her arms around her neck, and Makoto instinctively responding wrapped her arms around Ami's waist, not able to stop herself from noticing how soft her skin was.

"You gonna kiss your girlfriend or what?" Ami whispered as she nudged Makoto's nose with her own.

"Didn't know you were such a tease." Makoto whispered back before jerking Ami closer, causing their lips to clash together. Normally, the third time she did something would make it lose its novelty, but kissing Ami was clearly the exception as her insides burst into butterflies just like the time before. The butterflies were consumed by a roaring fire that reached even deeper than the put of her stomach as Makoto deepened the kiss. Ami responding by running her hands through Makoto's still damn hair, tenderly at first but quickly growing more frantic. Makoto let her hands roam, tracing up and down Ami's back, noting that the rest of her was just as soft as her lips. Each time their lips separated from each other, she couldn't help but let out a small gasp; it was as if she was drowning in the kiss, and Makoto honestly didn't care if she was pulled under and never resurfaced.

"Mako-chan…" She heard Ami moan softly, which sent shivers down Makoto's spine. "Mako-chan… We… we need to stop."

Makoto's brain initially refused to process the words, but slowly she pulled away from the shorter girl. Ami had already untangled her hand from Makoto's hair, which was a legitimate mane by now. In the quiet of the room, their pants echoed and their faces were flushed from their embrace.

"But… We can continue later. After we find Michiru and Haruka." Ami smiled softly to Makoto and stepped back and over to a pile of clothes, which she began layering on.

"I'm gonna hold you to that." Makoto teased as she walked over to the bed. She plopped down, accidently sitting on top of Ami's book. She pulled the book out from underneath her and began to flip through the pages. She noticed a couple of places where the spine had been broken in especially well and flipping back and forth between them, she quickly realized they were especially dirty lesbian sex scenes.

"God, Minako was even right about this. I didn't believe her because she never reads." She said aloud as she continued to thumb through the book, her eyebrows occasionally arching at the sexy bits she came across. "I can't even imagine where we'd be right now if I'd listened to her."

"Don't be hard on yourself, Mako-chan. If I had been in your position, I wouldn't have had the courage either." Ami replied, facing away from Makoto as she wiggled into a pair of pants. The movement caught Makoto's eye and she looked over the book to watch the wiggling of Ami's adorable booty.

"Yeah, but I'm the sailor scout of thunder _and_ courage. If anyone should have been the first to confess, it should have been me."

"Perhaps, but-" Ami stopped short. She turned around still missing a top and pants unbuttoned, a dazed look of contemplation on her face.

"Uhh, Ami?" Makoto put the book down on the bed. "Everything okay?"

Ami snapped out of it and grabbed her top, thrusting her arms through its sleeves.

"More than fine, Mako-chan. I think I know where Michiru and Haruka are."


	27. Chapter 27

After getting dressed, she called for the scouts to regroup in front of the hotel where they found two cabs waiting. Ami gave the cab drivers the address and the scouts piled in, still confused from lack of explanation. When they arrived at the church where the wedding was scheduled to be, their confused only increased.

But as usually, she had been right. They found Michiru and Haruka holed up in one of the confession booths, their entrance blocked by a pew which had been inexplicable pushed up against the door. They got the sky and ocean senshis to the hospital immediately. Luckily, someone had installed an air conditioner in the confessional booth, otherwise they might have been cooked like a couple of turkeys. After a doctor looked them over, it was announced that treatment would only amount to fluids and some bandages for Haruka's knuckles, as she had tried breaking down the heavy wooden door of the confessional with her fists.

"Wait, so how did you know where we were?" Haruka asked from her hospital bed. Even though the treatment was minimal, the doctor had insisted that she and Michiru be admitted for a few hours. Michiru sat up in a bed next to her, the cloth curtain that would have otherwise separated them pulled back.

"It hit me while Makoto and I were talking." Ami answered, "She said that she should have confessed a long time ago, and that reminded me of the church and the confessional booth. When I added that in with a couple of other clues, I just knew."

"Wait, _what_ clues?" As usual, Makoto was amazed by Ami's intelligence, but she had no idea how she had come to this answer.

"Yeah, Velma, tell us how you solved the mystery." Rei saw the confused looks on Haruka and Michiru's faces. "Oh, we've been referencing Scooby Doo like crazy this trip."

"First, and this didn't stick out to me as a clue at the time, but while you were on that stage at the con, you yelled out that you were getting married. Secondly, the cemetery where the cultists took us was near the church. It would have been just a hop, skip, and jump away from whatever the cultists were doing later." She explained.

"Wait, you figured out that we were there from just _that_?" Makoto said incredulously. She mentally fist-pumped—her girlfriend was freaking amazing.

Ami shrugged in response. "Well, it was a hunch. I could've been wrong."

"Hell, we knew Ami was smart." Haruka said. "But I didn't know she was so hot-headed—what's this about punching a stripper?!"

"Psh, compared to the rest of the story, that's the boring part!" Minako replied before Ami could explain. "You guys missed out on quite the show when we investigated the strip club!" The mention of 'the show' caused Setsuna, Ami, and Makoto to all groan. Minako might have gotten over the trauma, but the other three hadn't.

"Did it involve your new hair style?" Michiru said playfully. "You look so much like my wife now—she might have a cause for concern." She winked, causing Minako to blush and run her hand through her short hair. Everyone laughed, glad to see Minako get teased for once.

A few hours later, the pair were discharged and everyone returned to the hotel with orders to sleep in and wait until noon to report in at Haruka and Michiru's room for the wedding preparations. After the events of the day, no one objected.

Makoto had entertained mischievous plans to pick up where their kiss had left off earlier, but her body refused and she ended up passing out as soon as she crawled into bed. When her eyes opened again, the room was barely lit by the rays of light that managed to pierce through the thick curtains over the windows. Behind her, the sound of gently snoozing caught her attention and she realized that she was the little spoon surrounded by the big spoon that was Ami, her arm thrown over Makoto's side and her breath tickling the back of Makoto's neck. At first, she was afraid it was just a dream, but the events of the past day whirled through her mind and assured her that this was no illusion. She hit the snooze button on her phone and rolled over, snuggling into Ami, who unconsciously pulled her closer. Ami quickly dozed off knowing that reality was now better than any dream could ever be.


End file.
